


Before We Eat

by Autumnweebs



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, But damn does it make me sad, F/F, Suyoo friendship, no one asked for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:42:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autumnweebs/pseuds/Autumnweebs
Summary: Yoohyeon has learned to accept the rainy days in Incheon.Along with most things that now are instilled into her life, or lack of. She’s still not sure if she can consider this way of living to be one that can be considered as alive.Although water is the body of life--so they say. But with how the rain drops down onto her open palm, and dissolves as if it’s never existed, she’s certain that water does not live, but simply exists.As does she.
Relationships: Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon
Comments: 22
Kudos: 69





	1. The Red String

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So like most of y'all Dreamcatcher is my all time favorite GG. These girls are the sole reason I got into K-pop, now I'm trash like everyone else! (I'm playing, sort of.) So this little piece is actually from a original story I had in the works from about a year back. But I have no intentions to ever finish that piece. So I thought I take what I have, rewrite it a little, and turn it into what it is now. I hope you guys enjoy this, so with further ado. ENJOY!
> 
> 1/24/21 PLEASE READ: This story has been made into a full-length fic. Personally I'd recommend you go read the prequel to this story as to not spoil anything should you choose to read this one before reading: "How we keep ourselves fed." However, both fics are centered around the same story if you will. But both are different from how they're here to there. So what I'm trying to say is that you can read this one if you like because the 'prequel' is a bit different from how this one had ended. But I still recommend not reading this if you want to be left feeling surprised at my another story. Choice is yours though. Thank you. X)

Yoohyeon has learned to accept the rainy days in Incheon.

Along with most things that now are instilled into her life, or lack of. She’s still not sure if she can consider _this way of living_ to be one that can be considered as _alive._

Although water is the body of life-- _so they say._ But with how the rain drops down onto her open palm, and dissolves as if it’s never existed, she’s certain that water does not live, but simply exists.

As does she.

With each rain droplet that dissolves once hitting her ice cold skin, or the ones that somehow manage to slip right past her fingers, though she had tried to clasp them into her awaiting-pleading-palm, she knows that she must also learn to accept what she has become.

To either fizzle out when met with an immovable force or somehow slip past the cracks--to live- _no_ , to exist another day.

At least she’s aware, fully understands it even--the gravity of her situation, which rests painfully on her shoulders, threatening to crush her into dust.

Understanding is the ending line to where acceptance must begin after all.

However, Yoohyeon doesn’t dare cross over that line.

Maybe she’s experiencing the five stages of grief in reverse, or perhaps she’s just stuck between the four phrases now.

Most notably, phasing in and out between the deep-seeded anger that’s sowed into her chest like a field full of thorns waiting to spring up when the timing is ripe, and this sheer hollowness she’s felt ever since she was changed.

Now not only was the latter more powerful, but also the indescribable one of the two.

However, she’s had almost a year now to make a comparison if needed. That feeling of being empty all the time is a depression most have suffered, but this feeling was truly inhumane.

It’s like she was suddenly stripped of a loved one, taken one day--never to be seen again, gone for good. No closure, no funeral, no goodbye.

There’d always be an unfillable hole deep within her--as with most people when they lose someone dear.

But never in her twenty-four years being here on this earth would she have thought it be herself that she’d lose forever.

However, she’s still here--just as the rain is.

But neither of them are living.

She clenches her palm into a fist, hissing at another failed attempt to gain control.

All this power, all this strength, but yet--she’s more weaker than before.

_This red string_ tied tightly around her entire being, leaves her so fragile like a wine glass. All it would take is one small tug from the holder of this string, and Yoohyeon would be left in pieces from the fall.

But Yoohyeon tries not to think of _her_ as she sits on the small footsteps leading to the luxurious apartments behind her, the carved out entrance way shields her from the rain, for the most part at least. The droplets of rain from the hanging plants, from a neighboring window above her--drops down unto her, very seldom. But for as long as she’s been out here sitting, it’s enough to leave her soft brunette hair lightly damped along with a few small damp patches scattered on her clothes.

But that’s okay with her, she doesn’t mind it. Because when the tears that have been stinging at the corner of her eyes for the last fifteen minutes--finally escape, despite her trying so hard to keep them contained; it’s enough for her to conceived herself it’s just the droplets of water from the plants above that freely flow down her eyes, pass her cheeks--down onto the pavement below.

However, if strangers were around to pass her by, they’d see how hard she’s crying. How her body racks with each attempt to suppress her sobs, and how the mix of colorful street signs, from all around--tint her face in a heartbreaking, but somehow beautiful shades of purples, reds, and blues.

_Why does it have to be this way?_ She asks herself as she cries.

Knowing full well, that some things don’t need a reason to just be.

But once again, Yoohyeon won’t accept it.

She lets out this heart-wrenching scream--almost sounding like a dying animal, causing the sparrows to immediately flee from the rooftops, and the neighboring houses/homes to kick on their lights minutes after--illuminating the streets that once were covered in darkness by the night’s sky. 

By the time a few neighbors step outside, tightening their house robes as they look around, concern laced across their features as they look for the owner of that scream--Yoohyeon is gone.

No even so much as leaving a door swinging open or a thin trail to follow behind her. 

For she had disappeared in a blink of an eye--gone faster than what any human could possibly achieve. 

***

Yoohyeon knows how every single silver lining that finds her always seems to carry a dark cloud that comes her way.

So when two police officers show up at her door, twenty minutes after her breakdown on the streets, she’s not so surprised to see them.

However, her breath still gets stolen from her lungs the minute she sees their uniforms. Because she’s reminded that she used to be one of them.

In more ways than one.

But this time she only thinks about how she used to be an officer herself.

It’s almost been a year.

She’s half afraid that somehow they’ll remember her, despite her appearance having undergone some transformation. No longer was her skin kissed by the sun, which had always left her tone a soft warm caramel color. Now she’s pale, looking strikingly similar to those paintings of dead royalty, and beauty--perfectly meeting this country’s beauty standards.

Even the two men before her seem briefly captivated by her beauty, but Yoohyeon doesn’t know that. She’s still worried that they’ll remember her, despite them being stationed away from her. She spent all her time on the force working the station in Busan, ever since graduating boot camp. Nonetheless, her teeth still inch, petrified by her nerves bundling up from within her chest.

But Yoohyeon has forgotten how much people can forget in a year.

It’s only a five minute exchange before the police officers leave her, already knocking on her neighbor’s door before asking their questions, pertaining to the noise heard around the area.

Yoohyeon softly closes the door behind her before sinking to the floor.

She wills herself not to cry again as her mind crosses over into dangerous territory--a place she’s kept herself out of ever since she’s changed.

Yoohyeon thinks about her partner, a very loud, strong-willed woman, whom Yoohyeon was once able to call her best friend.

She wonders how the woman is? Where's she at now? Is Commissioner Bae Joohyun still raining down her terror and fierceness unto her partner? That much couldn’t have changed could it?

Though in hindsight, Yoohyeon knows how all it takes is one cause and effect before one's life is no longer the same.

Yoohyeon doesn’t scream this time, instead she meekly rises from the floor before heading into _their_ room, which smells like vanilla, but feels so suffocating to breath in.

She crawls into the warm white heavy comforters before letting her head hit the pillows with a soft thud.

The large window, leading out to the balcony, allows the light from the moon and stars to shine in on her, coating her face in a soft shade of blue.

Yoohyeon’s eyes feel heavy, tired out from another day of existing this way. She wants to wait up--knowing it won’t be much longer until _she’s_ home. But Yoohyeon let’s her eyes flutter close-- _just to rest them_ she thinks.

A few minutes pass before she drifts into peaceful slumber, her soft breaths fill the room here and there. 

Meanwhile from within the tranquility of her slumber, Yoohyeon dreams of her partner, and times that she wished she could have back--A good part of her that’s gone forever.

Even in her dreams she cries. Because she knows she’ll never have this back.

She’ll never live a normal life again.

It’s a bit longer by the time her ‘ _other half’_ comes home.

She moves quietly through the home, feeling at ease once she feels the other woman’s presence is still in the home.

She hangs her keys up before unbuttoning her black blazer, only to toss it on the back of the couch before entering their bedroom.

The light from the moon illuminates the room, revealing Yoohyeon fast asleep in their bed, her chest rising and falling with every breath she takes.

She watches her sleep for just a moment before walking over, to tread her long fingers through Yoohyeon’s ever-so-soft brunette hair.

Immediately Yoohyeon flinches in her sleep, causing her other half to withdraw her hand back, in a manner as if it caused her pain to touch the sleeping woman.

She sighs, sounding as if she’s held that particular one in for almost the last year now, before getting up to close the blinds to the windows, and to go into the bathroom attached in the next room over--to change into sleepwear.

Not too long after, she comes back in grey silk pajamas. She rounds the side of the bed before crawling underneath the covers.

Her back flushes against the soft streets as she stares up at the now pitch black room--the ceiling isn’t even visible to her, but she can hear the soft sway of the ceiling fan above her as the air lightly ghosts her face.

She inhales a deep breath through her nose before forcing her eyes shut.

From behind them images of Yoohyeon flash before her, in a way that’s painfully teasing.

She clenches her jaw, feeling her want- _no,_ need to touch the other woman rise in her chest. But she tries to force it down, and chase away Yoohyeon’s image in her head.

But her attempts are futile.

Her eyelids flash open before she tilts her head over to the side, to see the back of Yoohyeon’s head facing an arm’s length away from her.

Her heart growls: _Go hold her._

To which she obeys.

She carefully scoots closer to Yoohyeon’s sleeping form before she’s right behind her, a tiny sliver between them--enough that it’s her way of respecting Yoohyeon’s space.

She hesitates before snaking her arm around Yoohyeon’s tiny waist. She holds her breath, waiting to see if the other woman moves, but she doesn’t.

A few seconds pass before she allows herself to fully relax, and to find comfort in the way her arm rises and falls with Yoohyeon’s frame.

She watches her briefly before carefully, _very carefully_ \--bringing her forehead to rest in between the small slot of Yoohyeon’s shoulder blades.

Once there, she feels her tired eyelids shut close.

It isn’t too long before she’s fast asleep.

Meanwhile Yoohyeon has been jolted awake ever since she felt her _‘other half’s’_ hand rest underneath her waist.

If only anyone knew the internal fight she was undergoing, they’d think twice before ever wishing of falling completely in love.

This red sting was begging to be twirled around her finger, for her to turn around, and kiss the other woman awake--and to do so until they both were left breathless and stunned.

But the human part of her, what was left at least, fought her with a passion.

_She’s not good for you, she’s not good for you, she’s not good for you._

Yoohyeon was like a child being pulled away from candy, she knew it wasn’t good for her--but it’s what she wanted.

It’s what she craved.

But like with most of her instincts, Yoohyeon suppressed her urges, forces them way down into the furthest depths of her heart; locking them away--daring herself to even so much as to think about opening them back up again.

Yoohyeon stays up nearly half the night fighting herself before her body collapses in exhaustion--forcing herself to sleep again.

Yoohyeon doesn’t dream of her partner this time, or the best/simplest times of her life. Instead she dreams of Minji’s soft lips pressing against her own.

***

When Yoohyeon wakes up she’s left in an empty bed, but she knows Minji isn’t far--she feels her presence over in the next room.

She slowly gets out of bed before stretching out her sleepy limbs while breathing in the faint smell of coffee grounds.

Yoohyeon contemplates on sitting back down on the bed, to wait for Minji to leave for the day before starting her own day.

But this red string tugs at her heart, compels her to leave their room, and meet Minji at the kitchen.

So when Yoohyeon does move, it’s only partially her doing, her heart controls the remainder of her.

She opens up the bedroom door, and passes by the living room, where Pie and Cherry are happily playing with one another. Yoohyeon looks at them, and sarcastically thinks, _Minji and her attachments._ The thought is bitter, only because Yoohyeon knows how Minji loves to contradict herself when pertaining to matters of thine heart.

Hence why, Pie, Cherry, and Yoohyeon herself are all here--are all _hers._

Yoohyeon rounds the doorway to the kitchen before hovering around there, left stunned by seeing Minji standing at the granite counter top, pouring a cup of steaming coffee as her back faces Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon takes Minji’s appearance all in, for she was wearing her usual business attire, while her long black hair was tightly kept into a perfect bun--revealing her Black Widow spider tattoo that took up the skin on the nape of her neck.

Yoohyeon rarely saw it, along with all the other red flags that Minji kept hidden from the world, but when she was cursed with seeing the tattoo every now and then, it served as a painful remainder of what Minji is.

Of what they both are.

Maybe Minji had felt her presence, or perhaps even her timid stare. Because she glances around over her shoulder to see Yoohyeon standing in the door way of the kitchen.

Needless to say, Yoohyeon surprises her.

“You're up early.” She comments, her voice hard as steel.

Yoohyeon gulps, and despite her uneasiness she moves forward, needing to sit down at one of the kitchen’s chairs because of how weak her knees feel. “Yeah.” She replies, her voice far more smaller than Minji’s own.

Minji hums in response before turning around, letting Yoohyeon take her beauty in fully.

Yoohyeon’s breath hitches upon seeing Minji dawning, the simplest, but prettiest, of makeup. Her eyelashes coated in a layer of mascara, while her cheeks and lips are colored a light shade of pink.

Minji was always beautiful, without ever needing to try--always having this unattainable marble beauty that belongs in museums and stories of fools captivated by unearthly beauty.

But Yoohyeon was the fool who’d resisted her charms, and deemed her beauty a ruse.

Because at times like this, where Yoohyeon has a window of an opportunity to take Minji’s ethereal scenery all in, she always finds herself wondering where the woman ends and the monster begins.

However, she knows that like the gossamer of spider webs, within the cracks therein lies the truth.

“Do you want some coffee?” Minji asks, her tone ever-so-slightly softer than before.

Yoohyeon finds herself tangled in between her webs.

She hesitates under Minji’s piercing gaze, but mumbles a soft, “Yes, please.”

Minji turns on her heel without another word, setting aside her own cup of coffee to work on fixing a cup for Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon remains quiet, matching the almost perfect silence in the house, had it not been for Pie and Cherry darting in, chasing one another before twirling around a few times in the middle of the kitchen before darting right back out; causing a smile to creep up on Yoohyeon’s face.

Minji sees it once she turns around with two coffee cups in her hands. Yoohyeon’s smile is almost enough to cause Minji to smile too, but she forces herself to appear stonewalled as she walks over to place both cups on the kitchen table where Yoohyeon sits.

Yoohyeon slightly flinches, started by the light sound of the coffee cups brushing against the wood of the table. Luckily, Minji hadn’t noticed, for she was too busy grabbing the milk out of the refrigerator.

Yoohyeon lightly clears her throat as Minji steps back over to the table before pouring milk into her own cup. Once she’s finished with her cup she’s moving to pour some milk into Yoohyeon’s cup, only to be stopped by her.

“No, that's okay. I’m going to drink it black this time.” Yoohyeon rushes to tell her, before reaching forward to grab her cup, sliding it back to her as Minji remains frozen like.

Minji’s eyebrows crunch together as she looks at Yoohyeon. “You never drink your coffee black.” She tells her, in a way as if Yoohyeon was unaware. But truthfully Minji was just trying to make sense of the woman’s sudden change in her coffee drinking habits.

“I know, I just wanted to try something different today.”

Minji momentarily stares at her, rendered speechless, before opting to put the milk up without another word on the matter.

Yoohyeon brings the cup to her lips before taking a sip. She instantly hates the bitter taste that coats her mouth, but she’s determined to drink all of the bitter liquid--just to have some control in her life.

To have a change she’s made on her own.

She gently places the coffee back down on the table as Minji fetches two cubes of sugar to put into her own drink.

Yoohyeon notices how Minji’s cup of coffee is a drastic change from her own, for Minji's is way lighter in color, middling somewhere between a caramel shade to almost a shade of tortilla, and Yoohyeon is sure that Minji’s cup of coffee is far sweeter than her own bitter one.

It’s almost ironic in a way that it would be funny to most--that someone of Minji’s morose nature loved the sweeter, more brighter things.

But Yoohyeon can’t seem to find anything funny when pertaining to Minji. She just simply acknowledges the contradicting things about her, and moves on with it.

Because that’s all she can do.

It isn’t too long after sharing their morning together in dead silence, when Minji gets up--ready to leave for work, although Yoohyeon isn’t sure if that description is fitting for what the other woman does.

Yoohyeon looks down at her empty cup, surprised that she managed to finish it all without Minji noticing her discomfort. She listens in as Minji washes out her own cup in the sink, once the sink is shut off Yoohyeon is sure Minji will utter her halfhearted goodbye before leaving for the day yet again.

However, she finds out she had been completely wrong.

Minji walks over her way before resting her right hand on the back of Yoohyeon's chair, her other hand is placed upon the table as she carefully leans forward in an attempt to kiss Yoohyeon goodbye.

Yoohyeon is quick to make sure their lips don’t meet. Minji’s lips are only inches away before Yoohyeon shifts backwards, turning her head to the side--leaving Minji completely stunned. 

Minji’s eyes flicker open, and somehow Yoohyeon meets her lover’s hard stare, and surprisingly she sees a glimpse of hurt in Minji’s deep brown eyes before the woman is retreating back from her, walking out the house in hurry as her body threatens to tremble in anger.

Yoohyeon releases the breath she had been holding the second Minji slams the door shut.

Her blood has long but went cold as she feels her entire body heat up, despite her skin being permanently chilled--droplets of sweat rolls down from the back of her neck.

_Why did you do that?_ Yoohyeon’s heart asks.

“Because I fucking hate what she did to me.” Is Yoohyeon's outspoken reply.

***

After that, their fights start up strong again, despite this red string threatening to hang Yoohyeon every time she so much as defiles Minji’s words.

“So you’re just not going to eat now, huh? Let yourself starve is that it?” Minji questions her, in the dark of the night as Yoohyeon tries to get away from her--trying to close every door she can in Minji’s face in her futile attempts to slow her down.

“Leave me alone!” Yoohyeon growls, fangs threatening to flash from her mouth as she tries to shut their bedroom door on Minji, to which the other woman forcibly slams open, causing the door to collide against the wall with a loud bang.

Pie and Cherry rush to hide underneath the nearest piece of furniture they can find as they whimper in distress, begging their moms to stop with this senseless fighting.

Yoohyeon only has one way out from here...and that’s the balcony. But Minji is quick to stop her, grabbing Yoohyeon’s wrist in a binding hold.

“LET GO OF ME!” Yoohyeon screams, dejected. Hot tears now run down her eyes, her sclera and pupil are pitch black while her irises shine a crimson red--showing Minji her true self.

The one Minji had made her into.

Minji’s eyes flash into her true monstrous ones, matching Yoohyeon’s own. "LISTEN TO ME! Do you want to die? Is that what you want?” Minji demands, her body shaking with anger while her heart screams: _This is your fault, this is your fault, this is your fault._

Yoohyeon whines as she tries to use what little bit of strength she has left to free herself from Minji's hold.

Somehow she rips her arm out of Minji’s steel grasp before using the palms of her hands to push Minji, sending her flying back--crashing against their bedroom wall. In return Yoohyeon’s vision blurs, her entire head feels light as she stumbles to move forward, towards the balcony's door before she falls to the floor below, all her strength gone from her.

Pie and Cherry’s howls fill the household as they witness both their moms laying on the ground.

Minji nurses the back of her head as she slowly comes to, having nearly passed out over the force from hitting the wall, which it’s plaster was now cracked in massive ugly gashes.

Her eyes only dimmed back into her _‘normal’_ ones the minute she saw Yoohyeon lying on the ground, slowly trying to regain her bearings. But the anger has yet to vanish from Minji’s body as she crawls forward on her knees--over towards Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon feels so weak, like there's nothing to her anymore. She hasn’t fed in two weeks, and while she looks normal other than her eyes appearing hollow, no light in them--she knows that if she doesn’t feed soon it will only get worse from here.

But maybe that’s what she wants? To finally be free from this life- _no,_ this existence-

To be free of this red string that has both her and Minji on opposite ends.

Yoohyeon’s body is riddled in pain, one of the damn side effects of this fucking sire bond, but somehow through the pain, and her lack of strength, the tears from her eyes still freely flow as Minji hovers over her, looking down at her with a expression that Yoohyeon just can’t read.

“You think being turned is painful? Or a mother’s birth of a child is a pain near death? I assure you that this fate, if you choose it, is far worse than any pain you have ever endured.” Minji omens lifelessly.

When Yoohyeon looks at her, she doesn’t see the same woman that everyone else sees--a successful business woman in her late twenties. She sees the well over three hundred year old vampire, Kim Minji; that had come into her life like the most powerful of hurricanes, and left everything Yoohyeon had loved in ruins.

_You underestimate the pain you’ve put me through_. Yoohyeon wants to say, but that fucking red string is wrapped tightly around her mouth.

But Yoohyeon bites through it’s threads. “I don’t care.” She cries, before that red string tapes her mouth shut once again.

Yoohyeon’s words pierce through Minji's stone heart like the sharpest of arrows. She falls forward, trapping Yoohyeon with her arms, pinned down on each side from across Yoohyeon’s head. 

“You don’t care?” Minji asks weakly, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. “You don’t care?” She repeats herself, not understanding why Yoohyeon feels this way.

Yoohyeon cries harder as she nods yes, silently pleading for Minji to understand.

_I hate what I am._

Minji searches Yoohyeon’s eyes, trying to see if she can find the lie hidden somewhere in them.

She finds nothing.

Tears managed to slip past Minji’s eyes as her body shakes uncontrollably. _“But I care.”_ She whispers, as her tears drop down onto Yoohyeon’s face--mixing with her own tears.

Yoohyeon doesn’t know what to do after learning this. All she can do is cry harder because this shouldn’t be so hard. She shouldn’t love Minji as much as she does.

“I don’t want you to die. I don’t want to lose you.” Minji admits.

Yoohyeon isn’t so sure this is the same Kim Minji she’s known ever since her and her partner were assigned Minji's case--leading them both to where they are now.

Bora being-- _wherever she is._

And Yoohyeon being trapped in between Minji’s loving arms.

It should have never came to this.

However, Yoohyeon feels her resolve weakening each time Minji’s tears hit her face.

She isn’t sure if it’s the red string talking or if it’s her own heart, but when she hears: _You don’t want this._ _Be with Minji instead._ She follows its will.

Minji was all she had now, and at least she had loved all these sides that Yoohyeon now exists with.

Yoohyeon has cottonmouth, no longer is it the red string that makes it hard for her to speak, but through her weakened state she utters, “I’m...so..hungry.” and she hopes Minji gets her hint.

To which the other woman does.

Minji is quick to bite her own wrist, causing blood to pour out of it. She positions herself to cradle Yoohyeon before offering her blooded soaked wrist to her.

Yoohyeon greedily takes the offer, sinking her fangs into Minji’s wrist, to which the woman hisses at.

Slowly but surely, Yoohyeon feels some energy return to her. She’ll have to feed again on something else before the night’s over but for now Minji’s blood will sustain her.

It’s not too long after that the dormancy of the house returns to normal, and as if on cue Minji receives a call--demanding her back at work.

She leaves Yoohyeon with a sum of cash for the butcher, urging her to go purchase some blood for tonight. Yoohyeon of course agrees to go get some while Minji is away.

For the first time in a long while, Yoohyeon sees Minji smile at her, and she’s sure it’s a smile out of relief, but nevertheless does it cause her insides to go haywire.

Before Minji leaves for work, and after showing Yoohyeon that pretty smile, she turns to her with a certain gilt in her eyes before looking down at Yoohyeon’s lips, that are now cleaned from any blood.

Yoohyeon knows what Minji wants, for she wants it too.

Minji is the braver of the two, she always has been. So she’s the one that brings their lips together, moving in an ever-so-soft rhythm that leaves Yoohyeon dazed.

They hadn’t kissed in so long that Yoohyeon had forgotten how Minji’s lips like to leave bruising kisses that are pleasant for Yoohyeon to feel.

What was supposed to be a quick peck turns into something more.

Minji was nearly on the verge of giving up on going back to work as she deepens the kiss between them, causing Yoohyeon to let out a barely audible gasp, one that Minji had longed to hear. 

She flushes her body against Yoohyeon own, running her hands around in the brunette’s hair as she kisses her uncontrollably, only breaking their kiss to tilt her head to another angle from time to time, to kiss Yoohyeon with so much passion, that it leaves her melting.

Warmness spreads deep throughout Minji’s belly, and she’s honestly just one more kiss away from leading them to the bed before Pie and Cherry’s loud barks distracts Minji from her lust filled mind.

She breaks the kiss, looking over to the dogs in playful annoyance.

Yoohyeon can’t help but to giggle as she watches Minji playfully scold the dogs for interrupting. Before Minji heads off to the kitchen to fetch them some treats with them happily following behind her.

For a moment the display was enough to fool Yoohyeon--having her believing that this is a normal way of life.

That maybe everything would be okay.

But then, Yoohyeon feels Minji’s venomous kisses linger on her lips, and her stomach growls--begging for more blood.

Yoohyeon knows it won’t be long before they fight again, and that this red string will suffer them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it ends, for now. Part two will be up sometime later this week, and that will conclude this little piece. I hope you guys liked it. I'm a sucker for DC dark fics, and I just knew if I ever published just solely a DC centered fic, it would've been kind of dark. (Lowkey didn't want to spoil anything in the tags, hence why I didn't.) Thanks for reading, and until next time please take care of yourselves! Xoxo


	2. Hunger Pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Uh, remember how I said there would only be one more chapter after the last? Well I lied! Jokes aside I've been writing more to this, and this chapter really came to life on it's own, in a sense. So after this chapter they'll be one more before this story reaches it's end. Also I know I just posted this story today, but I'm going to drop this chapter already. Let it be a little sad treat for you guys! :'( (Because I HIGHKEY CrIED while writing it. Jiyoo hits me in the feels my friends.)
> 
> IMPORTANT: T/W: Hint of su*c*dal ideation, and a scene of attempted R*pe (Not on any of the girls' doings. Highkey hate r*pe fics! Just sayin'.) Please be warned, and tread lightly. None of the T/W mention above go into great detail, but reader discretion is still advised.

Yoohyeon walks with quicken steps, reminding herself, _Go get the blood, and return straight home. Go get the blood, and return straight home. Go get the blood, and return straight home._

The night’s breeze flows through her hair as the colorful neon markets signs enhance her skin with their surreal glow.

Yoohyeon can’t help but to stop and look at the far away distance overhead--Busan is so far away from Incheon. But if Yoohyeon wanted to, she easily could make it there in no time, thanks to now having the speed that challenges the speed of light itself.

One of the few perks that comes along with being a vampire, but Yoohyeon knows that the bad scale of things outweighs a few tainted _‘gifts’._

She so easily could run away, to leave this forsaken city, and it’s secrets of the un-living.

To leave Minji alone in the dark--to suffer her wrongdoings on her own.

But this red string tied around Yoohyeon only coils out so far before it pulls her right back in by the nape of her neck, kicking and screaming; bringing her back into loving arms that Yoohyeon is not so sure she wants around her anymore.

She loves Minji, but she wishes she didn't.

Things would be so much easier if she didn’t, and this red string binding them together wouldn't damn near kill her if she even so much as thinks of hurting Minji.

Yoohyeon knows it’s hardly fair to be on the opposite end of this string--the end that _gives and gives._ While on the other end, Minji is the sower of this string, twisting her sewing needle into the soft cotton--consuming each thread of yarn into her purpose until there’s nothing left; leaving Yoohyeon hanging on by a damaged fray.

 _But you are beloved by her._ Yoohyeon’s heart argues--To which her brain replies, _She loves the control she has over me._

But Yoohyeon is never so sure.

All she knows- _no_ , all she feels is that she's a beautiful porcelain doll kept hidden behind glass, locked away from the outside world--only to be admired for beauty, and loved with blind admiration.

Just another one of Minji’s possessions.

 _If you love me, why keep me contained?_ A question she has--that will forever remain unanswered, for she’s too afraid to ask such blasphemies.

Far too afraid of the answers Minji holds.

She continues on her way, ignoring how her heart painfully coils itself up from within her chest.

It’s not too long after that, when she finally reaches the butcher shop--already captivating the older gentleman behind the counter, whose face is worn down in many deep wrinkles.

“Can I help you?” He calls before Yoohyeon even attempts to enter the poorly lit shop, it’s bright uv lights flicker in a way that would be ominous to most--but Yoohyeon’s fear of being harmed is long gone. She, by all means, is technically dead already. The amount of effort it would take to finish her for good is unknown to most, not to mention extremely difficult to achieve--with Yoohyeon being able to kill a person in a blink of an eye, she hardly has room to fear any living thing.

She steps up into the shop, whose cold air clings to her skin--that was only covered by a green sweater. “Yes, I actually have a weird request.” She starts off, figuring it would be best to ease herself into this dreaded conversion, as opposed to: _Give me all the pig blood you can drain please, harabeoji._

The elder simply stares at her, confused as to why a young woman of her tiny stature is out so late at night, and wearing clothes not fitting for South Korea’s fall weather. However, he feels inclined to help her in any way he can--her angelic beauty matches those of the gods, and he could be damned should he revoke them.

But when the girl utters a shy, “Can you sell me three pints worth of pig's blood?” He’s not so sure about her being sent from the heavens anymore.

“What do you need pig’s blood for?” He questions her, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits, and truthfully he’s just one more weird occurrence away from calling the police.

There had been multiple killings throughout South Korea after all, and who's to say she doesn’t have three armed men outside waiting to strike him down?

Yoohyeon knows this, for she had seen it in his eyes, and heard it from his thoughts.

She hates what she must do, but she’s convinced she can’t change his mind without compelling him.

Her pupils dilate into the size of a pen point, causing the elder’s eyes to do the same, for he now was under her control as he remains frozen in place waiting for her command.

“Get me three pints worth of pig’s blood, claim this sum of money, and remember me not.” She instructs him, hating how her skin crawls with guilt as the old man immediately obeys, walking away in a zombie-like trance. 

Yoohyeon feels riddled with remorse as she sets the sum of money down on the counter before waiting for the elder to return.

Meanwhile her stomach twists painfully, the need to feed again was always a continuous feeling.

Minji had told her once: _"if you consume human blood just once, your urges will lessen."_

But Yoohyeon could never bring herself to harm another, for she was raised with a high moral compass, and once having served as a force for the greater good--caused her moral to be leveled with saints.

She would never harm another, not as long as she still has some control in her.

But she would be lying if she said that the red string never tugged her in that direction.

***

Yoohyeon had left the butcher’s shop with three pints of blood, and an uneasy heart.

Even now as she is a mile away from that place--the elder’s hollow smile, after giving her what she requested, still remains engraved into her memory like a scary scene from a horror movie--forever leaving her scarred.

Yoohyeon had tried to leave with some peace of heart, placing down more money that extended way over her charged total. For her mother and father had not raised a liar and a thief, but a girl with a naive heart and a guilty conscience.

Yoohyeon stops to stare up at the sky, knowing that her parents share the same view, despite being 6,690 miles away from her.

She wonders what they would think of her, If only they knew what she was.

They’d no longer grieve over a daughter whom they thought to be long dead.

The red string tightens painfully around her heart, to which she asks silently, _Why can’t they be weaved into this pattern?_

It goes without an answer because Yoohyeon knows why.

Her stomach growls relentlessly as she shuffles forward. She could easily sprint home, be there within minutes, but she wants the savor this time of being let out of her glass box--to feel somehow human as the cool wind’s breeze tickles her face.

She can control her hunger for a few more minutes. It’s not like she was in a dire calamity. She could see her and Minji’s apartment from here, it would only be a fifteen minute walk, if not less.

She should be fine.

But Yoohyeon underestimates the sheer power behind mundane occurrences. So when she passes by a younger man, looking to be around her age, she pays him no mind.

His baleful gaze follows her as he calls after her, “Pretty girls shouldn’t be out this late.” He comments with a crooked grin.

Yoohyeon rolls her eyes, her lips twitching in disgust. She moves on without a word, knowing that silence is the best way to deal with cat-calling. Most men would’ve left her alone after that, but this guy proves to be a thorn in Yoohyeon’s side as he presses off the side of the building before following behind her.

“I’m talking to you, ya know? You could at least say thank you for the compliment.” He bites, sounding completely pissed off by Yoohyeon’s rejection to pay him no mind.

Yoohyeon rolls her eyes. _That was a compliment?_ she wants to say, but she knows that’s asking for trouble.

Instead she looks over her shoulder, forces a tight lip smile before mumbling a dry, "T _hank you."_

That only enrages the man.

Yoohyeon doesn’t know how he was able to quickly cut her off, now towering over her in front--his face contorted into a sinister expression.

Yoohyeon knows what he wants, for she had heard it in his vile thoughts, leaving her feeling entirely and utterly sick.

She tries to push past him--only for him to step into her path once more.

“Hey now, I just want to talk.” He lies as his hot breath hits Yoohyeon’s face, and she has to force herself not to look disgusted after smelling the very strong liquor coating his breath.

“I don’t have time.” She tells him in a dead tone, as her stomach threatens to growl--the urge to feed was getting strong now, almost past the point where Yoohyeon could control herself.

She needs to get away from this guy as fast as she can, or _god forbid,_ she’ll do something that she will regret forever, despite this man being the lowest of the low.

Her refusal only excites him more. Yoohyeon can hear his thoughts so clearly, despite them being slurred: _I like it when they play hard to get._

Yoohyeon’s blood runs cold, and she quickly has to suppress the urge to vomit, her stomach riddled with sickness.

The man’s hands eagerly grab at her sides, caressing them up and down as he pulls Yoohyeon close.

Immediately Yoohyeon pushes him off of her, sending him stumbling backwards. She had made sure to use her _‘human strength_ ’ as opposed to sending this horrid man flying straight out of South Korea.

 _Fucking bitch._ She hears from his thoughts before he even utters the words out loud.

Yoohyeon knows he won’t give up until he takes what he wants. So when he stomps forward, fire raging from behind his dark eyes--Yoohyeon’s pupils shrink once more before compelling him. 

“Leave me alone, then take yourself to the nearest police station, confess your numerous rapes, and suffer the rest of your days in a prison cell.” She instructs, and for a moment the man seems to comply with her wills--before his eyes flicker between sizes as he grabs his head in pain.

He groans as he cradles his head, leaving Yoohyeon in a dazed like state.

 _Why isn’t it working?_ She asks herself, taking a step backwards as the man thrashes his body forward in pain.

“NO!” He roars before blindly reaching for Yoohyeon--only to grab her plastic bag that holds the three pints of blood. He quickly rips it from her hands, sending it falling to the sidewalk below.

Yoohyeon watches in horror as the contents of the bag spill out onto the pavement, painting the once dirty brown pavement into a shade of deep red.

The man seems to come to--awaking from his trance. He glances to the ground, instantly noticing the blood spilled out there. He can smell the light scent of iron, for he has come to know the smell very well.

He looks back up at Yoohyeon, bewildered.

She meets his menacing gaze with her own timid stare. Something shines from behind the ever-present rage in the man’s eyes, and Yoohyeon fully believes he has figured out what she is.

She’s entirely wrong, but she doesn’t know that as she tries to make one last attempt to escape, only to have him grab a hold of her wrist in a painful hold that threatens to leave purple marks on her perfectly white porcelain skin.

“Where do you think you're going?” He asks, jerking Yoohyeon closer, “I’m not fucking done with you yet. Now be a good little girl and shut the fuck up.” He demands, somehow managing to drag Yoohyeon away to the pitch black alleyway behind him.

He tosses her to the ground before sitting on her torso, pinning her down with the weight of his hips.

Yoohyeon’s stomach growls, and the minute that he rips her sweater down the middle--the red string says to her: _Kill him._

Yoohyeon doesn’t have any control over herself, acting on this primal rage that she has kept buried ever since she’s changed.

She doesn’t even have any coherent thoughts as she rips the man apart, sinking her fangs into his flesh--ripping off patches of skin around his neck while he cries out in pain, begs her to stop.

If Yoohyeon was thinking clearly she’d think how fitting this was--for him to suffer like this.

But she’s so caught up in the _want._

The man’s blood tastes like the sweetest of wines that Yoohyeon has ever had the pleasure of gracing her taste buds with. She’s greedy with how she feasts, appearing like a dinner guest with no table side manners as she drains him of all his worth--until there’s no blood left.

Once he’s all drained out with nothing left to him--Yoohyeon realizes what she has done.

She stumbles backwards before falling on her hands, her nails digging up the stones from the pavement as she pushes herself backwards--away from the man she had just killed.

_What have I done?_

She glances down in a panic state, only to see the skin of her chest and torso are coated in a thin layer of blood.

The red string demands more.

But Yoohyeon immediately throws up some of what she just had drank, as if it was an alcohol that her stomach couldn’t handle, and not the drink which prolongs her eternal life.

Yoohyeon’s throat burns from the acid of the vomit. But there’s a new burning sensation which rests at the latch of her throat--a burning craving for more human blood.

 _More, more, more._ She can hear the craving’s call, and she knows that pig’s blood, and Minji’s own will no longer suffice.

She’s gone past the point of no return now.

However, her naive heart and guilty conscience pull her back from across that line, but she’ll always remain sitting on that fence now--no longer blocked off from the other side.

Once again, she is changed forever.

***

Yoohyeon arrives at the apartments at an unseeable speed, only slowing down the minute she steps inside--greeted by one of the residents.

The woman instantly notices the tear in Yoohyeon’s shirt, and how her skin is coated in some kind of paint? “Your shirt?” She questions pointing downwards as her gaze follows Yoohyeon’s retreating form.

“It’s cranberry juice!” Is Yoohyeon’s rushed reply as she hurries up the stairs--trying to ignore the call in her head that sung: _Kill her~_

The amount of time that Yoohyeon has lived in this godforsaken hellhole of an apartment complex she’s rarely seen her neighbors out and about, who seemingly roam the hallways with no particular rhyme or reason.

They send curious glances her way as she brushes past them, her eyes kept at the floor--for she was afraid that all it would take is her looking them in the eyes before she’d kill them all.

Her mind seemed overly-keen on the idea, for Yoohyeon found herself calculating the odds. She could wipe this whole building clean before Minji could even so much as step a foot inside.

_No, no, no._

Yoohyeon unlocks the door to her home with shaky hands before she practically throws herself inside, making sure to lock the door behind her before she helplessly claws at her hair.

This newfound hunger rips and tears through Yoohyeon’s stomach as her mind is nearly on the verge of having her blackout into an uncontainable killing spree.

Truthfully she’s nearly gone, but Pie’s small paws dig at Yoohyeon’s calf as her little concern whimpers for her mom fill the room--Cherry is also running up to Yoohyeon by the time the brunette manages to gain some control, though it is very little.

Yoohyeon looks down at them with wide eyes, and an untamable heart.

“No, get away from me!” She yells, causing the dogs to tuck their tails between their legs--Yoohyeon has never scolded them before, let alone yell. But even though they’re confused and scared they stay close by their mom’s side, looking up at her with eyes that hold so much love in them.

For Yoohyeon could never do wrong in their eyes.

She glances between them, her breathing quickened as her body begins to shake uncontrollably. “Stay away from me. I’ll hurt you!” She begs before leaping over the dogs.

Once she lands, she is at the front of her bedroom door, her hands tighten around the doorknob as she hurries to throw herself in there, locking the door behind her.

Once in there, she claws at her skin--so desperately trying to remove the man’s touch from her, along with trying to suppress her hunger pains.

But Yoohyeon can still feel his grimy touch, smell his rotten breath--taste his sweet blood on her tongue.

She whimpers in distress as she moves forward, disregarding the ruined sweater on the ground before heading to the bathroom.

She needs to clean this feeling off of her--she needs to distract herself until Minji is home.

Yoohyeon wastes no time in running her bathwater--hot stream rolls out of the bathtub’s spout as Yoohyeon cranks the hot water nozzle all the way over until she nearly breaks it because of how much force she was applying.

She quickly strips herself from out of the remainder of her clothes before getting into the bathtub. Her back flushes against the cool marble of the tub before the extremely hot water rises above her shoulders, only then does Yoohyeon shut the nozzle off.

There’s a surreal dormancy that follows after.

Everything around Yoohyeon is frozen, and she can no longer hear Pie and Cherry’s whimpers from outside her bedroom door.

She can no longer hear her craving’s deathly tune, or the red string that plucks it’s chords.

But fate had always loved it’s jokes, and Yoohyeon was the unfortunate jester in it’s court.

**_KILL THEM, KILL THEM, KILL THEM!!!_ **

Yoohyeon cries as she falls backwards before submerging her whole body down into the warm waters below.

She doesn’t know why she had held her breath, or why she thinks the waters will kill her should she just remain under it.

It’s not that easy--to die once again.

This Yoohyeon knows.

She opens her mouth before screaming underneath the waters--trying her best to drown out her hunger that refuses to be quenched.

***

Minji arrives at home later than what she had liked. She looks down at the clock on her wrist, which reads a bold: **1:27am.**

She sighs before entering the home, knowing that Yoohyeon will be long asleep at this hour.

Their apartment is eerily quiet.

Minji is surprised when she doesn’t hear Pie or Cherry’s nails tapping against the hardwood floor, usually they’d be running underneath her feet by now, begging her to pick them up. 

However, Minji carries on.

Doing the same routine she always does, placing her keys up, unbuttoning her blazer before tossing it on- 

She’s perplexed upon seeing Pie and Cherry lying at the front of her and Yoohyeon’s room. She stares at them for a moment before saying, “Girls?” to which the dogs look at her, their eyes seemingly filled with tears.

The tiny hairs on the back of Minji’s neck stand up as a sudden feeling of panic pumps through her veins.

She tries to open the bedroom door, but finds that it’s been locked from the inside.

This red string tightens around her heart before Minji prays, _Don’t be gone. Please Yoohyeon, don’t be gone._

With shaky hands, and a fragile heart Minji brings her hand to the door, lightly rasping her knuckles against the frame. “Yoohyeon are you there?” She asks, “I’m home. Can you let me in?”

She waits a moment for a response, but she receives none--prompting her to fear for the worse.

That being Yoohyeon having left her for good.

Minji knocks again, this time in rapid sessions with an urgency that none could match. “Yoohyeon?” She calls, not able to mask away the fear in her voice.

Each second that passes Minji by, she only grows more worried before it’s too much to bear.

In one swift motion she slams her shoulder into the door, breaking the lock with an audible snap.

Minji’s worst fear was to lose Yoohyeon. But had she known that seeing her lover lying down on the floor, in a fetal position as she cries her heart out--Minji would’ve said this was her worst fear.

Minji’s heart feels as if it’s thrown to the floor, shattered pieces at her feet. “Yoohyeon!” She calls again, desperately needing to hear her lover’s voice and not those painful cries that trail out from her lips.

Minji rushes over, and falls to Yoohyeon's side. In an attempt to comfort the crying woman, Minji attempts to scoop Yoohyeon up into her arms--only to have the brunette fight her worried-sick hands away.

“Don’t touch me.” Yoohyeon begs, all the while the red string bargains with her: _She’s not going to hurt you. Let her help you._

_Help me? She’s the reason I am what I am!_

Minji hovers above Yoohyeon, her soft hands ghosting over Yoohyeon’s skin, which begs to be touched by her. _“Baby, what's wrong?”_ She coos, though her tone is laced with worry.

“Go away.” Yoohyeon sobs, burying her face into the floor--just like how she does with everything that makes her uncomfortable in this skin.

Minji is stunned, and in times like this she wishes she could hear Yoohyeon’s thoughts--to be able to understand the girl she loves.

“Tell me what I can do, baby. Tell me what’s hurting you.” Minji pleads, hating how with all this love she carries for Yoohyeon it’s not enough to keep her safe.

If anything, all Minji does is tear Yoohyeon apart because her ‘hold’ on the brunette is so strong, that when Yoohyeon just so much as tries to move away--Minji’s nails shred her beautiful porcelain skin apart.

Maybe all Minji is good at is hurting Yoohyeon, despite her best intentions.

Yoohyeon finally looks up at Minji, with glossy eyes, and a broken shell of herself. Minji’s breath hitches, and the pain she feels after seeing Yoohyeon this way almost is leveled with the time she found Yoohyeon dying just a year ago.

Although nothing can match that pain.

This feeling is still enough to leave Minji feeling battered and bruised.

The red string urges Yoohyeon to tell Minji, but it’s not the words she truly wants to say.

If she could have it her way, finally beating that damn red thread and her wildly-wanting heart, she would say: _Haven’t you done enough, Minji? You are the reason in which I suffer._

But never does her mind fully have it’s triumph over her heart. Not when Yoohyeon has always stumbled over this red string with unsteady feet and a heart that belongs to Minji.

 _“I killed someone.”_ She whispers in a manner as if it’s the world’s unknown secret. Which to her it is.

Because this is the world in which she exists in.

Minji stares down at her, shock contorts her features as she feels drained of all her strength. “What?” she asks, so unsure about everything now.

Yoohyeon only nods, it’s her silent confirmation as warm tears stain her pretty face.

“Oh, _Yoohyeonnie._ ” Minji breathes out, so much sympathy is embedded in her eyes that it leaves Yoohyeon blinded.

Minji scoops her up in her arms, hating how Yoohyeon feels so light in her arms, as if there was nothing to her, despite having the biggest heart that Minji’s ever known. That should weigh for something, but somehow it never does.

Yoohyeon's cries only become louder as Minji pulls her close, wrapping her in this warm blanket of safety that reminds Yoohyeon of her own mother. Minji rocks her as she runs a soothing hand down the brunette’s hair.

Yoohyeon speaks up, past the lump wedged firmly in between her throat, “I killed him without a second thought. I drank all of his blood Minji….” Yoohyeon trails off, allowing Minji to press gentle kisses to the side of her temple. _“I know.”_ Minji coos.

Yoohyeon cries even harder as if such a thing was ever possible, causing a new layer of hurt to peel back from Minji’s stone-like skin.

Yoohyeon’s lips quiver, “And now….I don’t know what to do….I don’t want it to be this way...I can’t live like this.” She tells her lover, her tone so broken that Minji hardly recognizes it as Yoohyeon’s voice.

Minji says nothing, does nothing. She stays perfectly still, and quiet with Yoohyeon wrapped tightly in her arms. The only sounds to be heard now are the soft breaths of air coming from both the women.

The world around them seems so much more emptier than before.

It’s not exactly new for Minji to disregard the painful truth when presented right in front of her. She’d never admit that she’s far too selfish to even so much as think of letting Yoohyeon go. And maybe she’s feeling greedy because there will never be enough time for her and Yoohyeon to spend together, and while Minji quite literally has it all--not needing to wish on fallen shooting stars for such childish things, she still finds herself wishing that she can have Yoohyeon forever, to have their peace, and to have Yoohyeon want her for once instead.

But Minji knows that it’s wishful thinking, that such things are unattainable even for a powerful immortal like herself.

She knows that the heart has its own will, and does as it pleases--for she knows Yoohyeon no longer loves her, and that the only thing keeping her here is this red string that binds them together-- _threatening to end them both._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, are we still alive out there? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I do! Thank you for reading, and leaving Kudos my friends! LET IT BE KNOWN that I'd take a bullet for the people who comment, you guys inspire me to write more. THANK YOU so much, all of you are cool as hell! Until next time, take care. Xoxo.


	3. Seeing Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! So here we are....BRACE YOURSELVES! GRAB SOME TISSUES, A BLANKET, LOCK YOUR DOORS SO NO ONE SEES YOU UGLY CRY! All jokes aside- (Honestly, I'm not kidding though. I had to step away from my laptop several times while writing this.) -I hope every one had a good holiday, and that every one is taking care of themselves! Friends, I just want to say again: Thank you so much for reading this humble little fic and showing so much love towards it! :')
> 
> IMPORTANT: T/W Mentions of su*c*dal ideation. (I hate it here.) Also there is a s*x scene. Honestly I was debating on leaving that out because I want to be respectful of the girls. BUT that scene was written back when I was writing this as a original story, and it's seriously important to the story. (A whole lot of symbolism is there.) I promise I wrote it very tastefully, and I tried very hard to make it respectful. None of the T/W mention above go into extreme detail, but reader discretion is still advised.

Bora has a clairvoyance for knowing when days are going to be bad, an acetous feeling that stirs around from within her chest and says: _Prepare yourself for the worse._

So it’s no surprise to her that the day, and all it’s tarnish memories that beg for Bora’s undivided attention, to which she gives it not--starts off bad.

She really regrets even getting out of bed today--even though her dreams weren’t so inviting either--for they had been filled to the brim with a _certain someone_ whose dopey face and child-like smile Bora longed to see again. Her dreams were never enough; for they are always a torturous tease, a, _here she is,_ to, _goodbye again._

Bora would count the seconds within her dreams, beg for more time once she started to feel herself fade before being forcibly dragged from that euphoric fantasy--losing her best friend _again, and again._

Dreaming of her late best friend was never something new. Bora’s spent so much time already, dreaming of Yoohyeon.

Maybe that should’ve been her first warning sign to stay at home today, paired with the undeniable fact that today is Yoohyeon's date of passing after all.

But she tries not to think of that--though it’s never that simple. 

However, Bora’s unyielding stubbornness refuses to allow her heart to rule over her.

Plus it somehow helps that the universe seems keen on fucking with her today--making her feel more pissed off than anything.

Beginning with almost spilling her scorching coffee on herself, after some _Migook_ bumped into her while she was walking out of the gas station’s door.

“Walking here!” Bora calls loudly over her shoulder in perfect english, full of irritation, to which the young American woman gives a puzzled look to.

Bora scoffs while rolling her eyes, ignoring how her heart slowly sinks to her stomach every time she’s reminded of Yoohyeon--by what should be just simple coincidences.

But she’s never believed in coincidences. Though they’d be more logical than suspecting the universe, God, fate, or whoever controls these types of harrowing happenings of foul play against her entire-being.

Bora looks to the sky--which is painted in dreamy shades of baby blues while soft clouds are spread across it’s canvas like white paint spilled on. She sends a wink into the air, attached to it is the thought: _Are you still reminding me that you’re watching over me?_ She entertains the idea just for Yoohyeon’s sake--for Bora remembers how much that girl had loved her silver linings, and life after death philosophies.

But Bora’s not so sure--she’d rather stay in this reality where everything makes sense in a realistic way...Then again she’s reminded that Vampires are very much a thing, and are the wicked thieves that stole Yoohyeon’s life away.

But once again Bora would rather stay realistic, and if she’s being honest she finds it hard to believe Yoohyeon is with her in spirit when she can’t even feel her here, as if she’s not gone in the first place.

Because if Bora is super honest, she has felt that supposed spiritual presence before. Everytime she had managed to solve a case, brought justice to its perpetrators, and peace to the families who had lost a loved one. She would be overwhelmed with this warm surreal feeling of thankfulness, as if the victim had expressed their gratitude before moving on--somehow still leaving a piece of themselves for Bora to remember them by. 

But with Yoohyeon--Bora never did feel that feeling of warmth….or anything remotely close to it.

The only thing Yoohyeon had left her with was a forever broken heart, and her police officer badge, which Bora viewed as her most precious possession.

At least that much of Yoohyeon was left with her, along with how every American thing was now something Bora’s mind had associated with Yoohyeon, _and Yoohyeon only._

So when Bora’s heart threatens to drop again at the sight of her own 1978 Dodge Aspen whose solid frame was painted the sharpest color of gold; it’s bold color challenges the most royalist of crowns--Bora has to force the feeling aside.

She opens the door to the driver side before shuffling inside, closing the door with a sigh as she then inserts the keys into the ignition all while trying to not think about how many times her and her Korean-American partner shared most of their time together in here--always searching for another mystery to be solved, a crime to be had; a spot where they could simply existence with one another, and share the best times of their lives.

Those memories of Yoohyeon alone should be enough to keep her alive in Bora’s heart forever.

But Bora doesn’t want just them, some measly reminders of the girl--that the universe is currently torturing her with--or Yoohyeon’s badge that rests in the pocket of Bora’s jacket, right above her heart.

She wants Yoohyeon with her here instead.

She wants to see Yoohyeon’s dopey face again. Hear Yoohyeon’s loud laughter that almost levels with her own. She wants to have Yoohyeon annoying her by asking to turn on the radio, to which Bora used to say no to--just to annoy her back.

Bora wants it all back, and so much more.

 _“You’ll find peace one day.”_ Commissioner Bae Joohyun had said to her at Yoohyeon’s celebration of life, which Bora had set up because there was no body to bury, and she knew Yoohyeon would have wanted people to find joy in her absence rather than cling to their sorrows over her being gone.

But after a year’s worth of grieving Bora has yet to find it.

If she’s being honest, _goddamn,_ she always has been brutally honest--Bora doesn’t want peace. She doesn’t want the pain of losing Yoohyeon to go away. She wants it to be branded into her heart and soul forever--so they can always remind her: _You failed her._

It’s not too long after leaving the gas station does Bora find herself navigating through traffic while holding back her road rage, and memories of Yoohyeon that attempt to resurface at every chance given.

She knows it’s just the day pointing out what would be just the usual, but because today is forever tainted by tragedy and loss--everything seems to remind her of Yoohyeon, and quite frankly Bora is so over the universe and it’s shitty little _‘reminders’._

So while waiting behind an ungodly amount of traffic, Bora decides to kick on the radio in hopes of keeping herself distracted enough to not think of Yoohyeon.

Immediately a few plucks from a acoustic guitar, followed by a bass guitar fills Bora’s car, and before the group even so much as utter a line Bora thinks, _The, fucking, Beatles_ , and not in a way like: _Oh my God! The Beatles! I love The Beatles!_ But quite literally: _The, fucking, Beatles. I hate The, fucking, Beatles._ As evident as the groan that trails out of Bora’s lips.

But Bora can’t really protest too much. So instead she takes her small victories where she can find them and thinks, _Suck it, Universe. The Beatles aren’t even American!!! Nice try though._

The group’s singing fills her car, and while- _yes,_ Bora does grind her teeth halfway throughout the beginning of the song--she later eases up, finally finding some peace of mind in boring old music.

However, in moments like this where the silence is somehow hidden among the loud music. Bora can hear the faint sounds of Yoohyeon tapping her fingers against the passenger side window, perfectly matching the beat of the drums to the song.

_“I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand.”_

Bora can hear Yoohyeon sing those words, clearer than ever.

She turns her head to the side-- _sees_...Yoohyeon sitting there, singing beautifully as ever.

 _“Michelle, ma belle. Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble. Très bien ensemble.”_ She sings, turning to meet Bora’s unblinking gaze before smiling at her--with her uncanny sunshine deposition that always lit up the darkest of Bora’s days.

_“I need to, I need to, I need to. I need to make you see. Oh, what you mean to me.”_

Bora can’t hear The Beatles singing along--somehow it’s only Yoohyeon that she hears, singing in a way that Bora can feel the words brush against her skin, leaving her breathless.

Yoohyeon rasps her fingers against the window in sync with the guitars’ strings that pluck, and the drums that beat away. She doesn’t know how Bora’s heartstrings get played too, and how her heart hammers away against her ribcage.

_“Until I do, I’m hoping you will know what I mean.”_

Bora blinks her unshed tears away, coinciding perfectly with Paul McCartney’s voice that sings: _I love you_ , followed by a car horn.

Bora doesn’t even flinch, instead she pushes her foot on the gas, but not before flipping the bird to the car behind her.

Yoohyeon had never been singing in the car, and Bora hadn’t officially gone off the deep end--hearing Yoohyeon’s voice and seeing her clear as day.

 _No,_ for she was used to imagining these scenarios. Having done this before--playing these little snippets of Yoohyeon in her head, _over and over_ that she damn-near has Yoohyeon’s likeness perfected.

More often than not Bora catches herself daydreaming intentionally to be reminded of _her._ Because at least then it’s on her own freewill, and not the universe’s, for she refuses to be strung along like some sad puppet. 

Sometimes these daydreams are enough to actually fool her for a moment. But she knows Yoohyeon Isn't here, nor will she ever be Bora’s own personal-concert-shotgun-rider ever again.

 _“Pabo.”_ Bora whispers, not sure if it’s meant for the imaginary Yoohyeon that she keeps in her head--or herself. 

Because she’s the idiot that keeps looking for things to remind herself of her late best friend.

***

Bora arrives at Incheon police station with a full tank of gas, and an empty stomach, along with her coffee cup that’s practically begging her to refill it.

She coolly exits her car, paying no mind to how her new co workers stare at her vehicle with judgement riddled across their faces.

Despite her working at this station for over two weeks now, the original crew seems keen on placing their mindless judgements upon her while keeping their envy of all that Bora is, away from her.

As she walks across the small parking lot, leading to the even smaller grey building in front of her, which only sets about a story high--Bora thinks about how maybe putting in a transfer to Incheon wasn’t her best idea after all.

Incheon is quite the change of scenery from where she was at then to where she’s at now, and the people here seem a whole lot more simple-minded than those she’s come to terms with back at her original home in Busan.

However, Busan was hardly a place that Bora thought of as home anymore, ever since she’s learned that these blood sucking leeches that used to be a former shell of a person--roam around there, and consumed every living thing in their paths as if their hunger was never sustainable.

Bora has lost so much to them--she’s lost so much in Busan.

She had to get away from there, leave it’s cursed ground behind--along with those painful memories that nevertheless still followed her here.

If Busan ever did get washed away by a life-altering Tsunami Bora isn’t so sure she’d miss it. It’s not exactly like she’s clicking her heels together three times and wishing to be back there right now. 

Although she’d be lying if she said Incheon was the better pick between the two.

But regrets or no regrets of coming here, It’s not like Bora’s commissioner would have allowed her to go anywhere else--not when they’re the only two people who know of _Gangsis_ , whose existence would unravel everyone's way of life should they ever be found out.

Bora plans to keep them remaining a secret--no more than a myth or an old folklore used to scare children. Besides, her and Joohyun are almost positive that after ripping apart, burning the bodies, and spreading the ashes of several vampires across the Han river, those that remain _‘alive’_ are long gone at this point.

It’s been a year since that whole bloodbath had gone down after all.

But Bora remembers it all like it was just yesterday--hard not to, considering that was the event that led to Yoohyeon’s untimely demise.

But that’s a story for Bora to wistfully reminisce about another time, for this day has already taken so much of her time--the clock that strikes well over her starting shift time is evidence to that.

Bora plows through the double doors with a little more effort than needed, causing the people inside to immediately look her way.

But just like with her co workers outside she doesn’t give anyone the time of day--not even so much as a simple hello as she speed-walks through the corridors, ignoring each whispered imprecation that’s directed at her from people who had no idea what her day was like.

 _If only they knew how my day was going_. Bora thinks bitterly, _If anyone in this, fucking, building knew what today is._

It’s not too long after walking through seemingly endless corridors, and refraining from just straight up decking one of her co workers, does Bora come barreling through commissioner Bae Joohyun’s door.

“You're late.” Joohyun says right after, straight-faced.

“Aw, you noticed.” Bora quips back, a sardonic smile on her face as she approaches her superior’s desk.

Joohyun doesn’t share Bora’s mordacious amusement, nor has she ever. But Bora stills likes to provoke her with her unbested repartee that she knows Joohyun despises with a passion.

However, the hardened commissioner lets her deputy chief get away with the remark, opting to not say anything back because she knows Bora always has another smart-ass comment put away like a bullet concealed in a revolver’s chamber--waiting to be fired off.

She watches on in silence as Bora moves around her office, stopping in her tracks once she sees a box of open donuts sitting across Joohyun’s desk. Without saying anything the brunette reaches forward pulling out a glazed donut before sitting down at the chair in front of the desk, much to Joohyun’s dislike. 

“Please, help yourself.” She says sarcastically, with an absolutely dead expression.

Bora ignores her as she takes a bite out of the delicious dessert.

What follows after is a wearisome silence, one that both of the women had become accustomed to, for their days spent chasing after monsters had ended a while ago. Now these days everything seemed so bleak, even the crime rates throughout the cities had lessened to a point where most days the officers are left wondering why they even bothered with coming in sometimes.

Joohyun focuses on the paperwork piling up on her desk, at least she has that much to keep her busy--though it never was exciting.

Bora finishes eating what’s left of the donut as she blankly stares out of the commissioner’s office window, watching as cars zip by in a blur--one after another.

The sound of Joohyun brushing the end of her pen, signing those papers, fills up the quiet space in the room, along with the heater unit that loudly kicks on from time to time.

After going through a year’s worth of supernatural occurrences--slaying vampires and experiencing a tremendous loss. It’s strange to Bora how easily life seems to shift itself back to normal.

Maybe she’s feeling slightly philosophical because she knows how life is always ever-changing but yet the same, like a book whose meaning changes each time it’s read. But through the lines and words that have double meanings she takes it all in at face value because she simply doesn’t want to read anymore into it.

Truth be known if she did--all it brings her back to is how she’s still stuck in the past, holding on to Yoohyeon with all she has--while life itself and the people it carries moves on.

Bora knows, _god she knows,_ it’s better to let go than to hold on--these deep rope burns around her hands from holding onto this string of tragic memories that has Yoohyeon attached to the end of it--should prove how damaging it is to hold on.

But Bora never knows when to quit.

 _“It’s been a year today.”_ She alludes quietly, still looking out the window; she can hear how Joohyun’s signing halts right after.

There’s a small pause, somehow louder than the previous silence that had overtook the room for a good amount of time.

Bora almost regrets opening her big mouth, but she tosses the feeling aside because she has no room left for anymore regrets--not when there's a _certain one_ that takes up all the space in her heart.

“I know.” Is Joohyun’s barely audible reply, void of any emotion. 

Bora doesn’t say anymore pertaining to this touchy subject, nor does her commissioner, who is one again filling up the heavy air with sounds of her pen gliding across each sheet of paperwork.

Bora knows that not every reply needs a long-winded exclamation of grief, for she knows that when Joohyun lightly clears her throat, and sniffles to clear her sinuses, it's her commissioner’s quiet signs--telling her: _I still miss her too._

***

Bora is thankful for Joohyun for many reasons.

The most noteworthy out of her long figurative list, that Joohyun is sure to add another thing on there in the near future--is that Bora is forever thankful for having her as a boss, a mentor, and a friend. Which if she was told Joohyun was going to be just that, she would’ve laughed so hard to the point of tears--They weren’t exactly each other's biggest fans after all.

But now, a year later--it’s not such an unimaginable thing, and Joohyun, despite her icy demeanor, is actually someone who's easy to be around.

When Joohyun wasn’t being overly high strung because of work, which Bora understood--she always carried this serene feeling around her, something that Bora desperately needed at this point in her life. 

Joohyun’s professional nature helped mellow out Bora’s reckless ostentatious behavior.

So it’s no longer a surprise to either of them on days like today where Bora is nearly fallen asleep in the chair across from the commissioner, who is seemingly always tied up in some kind of work.

Bora wouldn’t know where she’d be right now if Joohyun hadn’t transferred to Incheon with her--all she knew is that in the grand scheme of things she’s thankful that Joohyun was a added addition, and that the woman didn’t mind her sleeping on the job, at least for now.

The warm sunlight, seeping through the office’s window, feels like a cozy blanket on Bora’s skin, and the way that she finds Joohyun’s writing to be soothing is enough to put her asleep most days, but today she’s barely hanging on to a thread as her eyelids sag close before opening again.

Quite frankly, if it wasn’t for one of the police officers bolting through Joohyun’s office door a moment later, Bora would’ve already been in dreamland by now.

Both women's attention immediately shifts to the panting man, whose eyes are widened in a way that makes both of their hearts sink to their stomachs, for they haven’t seen a look like that in quite some time.

Before they can even ask what's wrong--the man tells them, “Someone just called in about a body near the marketplace on Juneto-ro street. It’s bad they say the body is almost ripped apart.”

Bora and Joohyun share a concealed paled look, both their minds have already gone to the worst possible thing-- _for this cannot be happening again._

***

Bora remembers how her various school teachers, and even her own parents had always said to her: " _History repeats itself."_ A sentiment she’d often disputed as something they spoke of just to keep the past alive.

But as she stands over a body of a man, with a look of sheer horror permanently embedded on his face--upon his last moments before being met with what looks like a gruesome fate. Bora was proven wrong, for they had been right.

The left side of this man’s throat was torn open in massive gashes, leading all the way to his Adam's apple which now was on display to see. It looked as if his whole neck was put in a meat grinder or something, dried up blood remained caked around what little bit of skin still remained attached to the meaty flesh there.

Bora looks paler than the grave, while her commissioner is forced into a gargoyle-like stance, an unreadable expression having taken over her features since her and Bora arrived.

Several other police officers are throwing up a few feet away from the scene while others cover their noses with their hand, complaining about the smell.

But the smell of the dead no longer bothers the two women, nor do their stomachs threaten to spill their lunches over such a horrific sight.

However, the uneasiness that they both feel only ampflies once they look into the man’s lifeless bloodshot eyes--he had suffered the same fate that those that were lost in Busan had.

“Can someone stop puking up their guts for one second, and tell me where the hell is the _goddamn coroner?!_ ” Joohyun barks, causing half the men and women at the scene to flinch at her tone, for in their eyes she was far scarier than the dead.

A lanky looking officer timidly moves forward into Joohyun’s general view. “He’s on the way, commissioner.” He informs, his voice threatening to crack the whole time as he shakes like a leaf under Joohyun’s heated glare.

“Well, somebody better get on the phone with him, and tell him he better be _fucking flooring it._ Because any minute now we’ll have cameras crammed up our asses, and I don’t have the patience to play pr right now. Do you understand me?” Joohyun informs with a bite behind her tone, causing the poor man’s throat to bob as he swallows painfully.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Joohyun looks at him expectantly, annoyed that he’s still standing in her presence. “Well? Why are you still standing there? GO!”

“Yes, ma’am!” He replies before quickly leaving Joohyun’s side, walking past two other offices that are currently questioning the woman who had reported finding the body. 

Bora crosses her arms over her chest the second a heavy sigh trails out of her commissioner’s lips.

“This isn’t good.” Joohyun breaths, closing her eyes in a futile attempt to clear her mind, just so she can think about where to start with this--how she’s even going to spin this story for the public's eye. “The city officials are going to be raining over my head once they find out about this.”

Bora hums, not sure what to say. Nothing she’s ever said before has helped--besides, she’s more of an action than words kind of person. She leaves the silver-tongue to Joohyun, but even she knows that her commissioner can only cover so much.

For when she looks down at the man she sees how impossibly pale his skin is, how the flesh of his cheeks are sunken in, along with the sockets holding his eyes. She’s not a coroner, but she’s seen enough bodies like this to know that there is no more blood left in this man. 

“I’ll make sure that this case is unrelated to the cases back at Busan. This was a freak accident or a mugging gone wrong.” Joohyun rambles senselessly.

Bora looks at her, catches her dark brown eyes that are filled with fear of the unknown future that’s in store for them. “Yeah, that will go over well. What are you going to say when the coroner finds out the victim has not a drop of blood left in him?” She hates to be the bitch with bad news, but she hates being unrealistic even more.

Joohyun knows this, but even then she scoffs as if Bora’s the one being unreasonable. “So what do you want me to say--It’s all connected? Citizens of South Korea prepare yourselves for the worst?”

Bora shakes her head, smiling in a way that’s taut with frustration. “All I’m saying is, look at our options here. We are running on borrowed time, and we have been for the last year, Joohyun.”

Joohyun stares at her, her shoulders slumping forward in defeat. “I know that.” She mutters, sighing once again. “I thought we killed all of them….But I guess not.”

Bora rests her hand on her commissioner’s shoulder. “Me too.” She admits, barely audible. Somewhere hidden in her reply is: _A year after Yoohyeon’s death too._ For she can’t bring herself to utter those words--she knows Joohyun shares her unsaid thought, and had since the moment they saw the sight in front of them. There really was no denying that this is a work of a vampire, they’ve seen this too many times already to not know.

A faint hint of sadness shines from behind Bora’s dark eyes, before it's contorted into this white hot anger because she’s reminded of what today is, and how she doesn’t believe in coincidences. She can’t stop herself from thinking that whoever, or _whatever_ , in this case, did this on purpose.

A little message left for her, and her alone: _I’m still here, and I know you’re too._ it teases.

Her jaw clenches, with so much force behind it that she easily could break a tooth, but she doesn’t care. All she cares about now is finding out where this fucking vampire is.

She turns around on her heel before moving forward, only turning back around to walk backwards once she hears Joohyun’s tired sigh, “Where are you going?”

“I saw some blood tapped off on the sidewalk up ahead, I’m going to go check it out.” She replies, not missing how her commissioner immediately gives her a pointed look.

“You’re not supposed to touch anything until the coroner gets here.”

Bora laughs. ”I do what I want.” She counters, before pulling out two latex gloves from her jean’s back pocket--sliding them over her hands much to Joohyun’s ever-lasting frustration with her.

Joohyun remains emotionless as her deputy chief blows her a kiss before she rounds the counter of the alleyway. There’s not much that she can say or do that will ever stop Bora, she’s learned that after working alongside her for the last two years--she just prays there's a method to that woman’s madness, and that Yoohyeon, in spirit, is helping guide Bora to the right path.

Bora scans the little taped off area of the sidewalk--sees how the sidewalk is painted a deep shade of red. While that is alarming enough, what really catches her attention is three styrofoam cups, whose insides were stained the same color of red.

Her brows furrowed together, knitting a small knot in between them as she crouches down before picking up one of the cups to examine it further.

“I thought we aren’t allowed to touch evidence until the coroner is here?” A voice asks, prompting Bora to look up to see the same lanky man hovering over her, looking just slightly less afraid of her than what he had been of Joohyun.

“The coroner can bite me.” She remarks, looking away from the man before setting the cup back down.

The man is briefly rendered into silence, for he didn’t know what to say to that, nor did he want to upset the very intimidating woman below him. Instead he just quietly watches her scan the area, looking more lost than ever as she sighs deeply.

“It kind of looks like cough syrup, doesn’t it?” He asks, following Bora’s eyes that stare deeply at the remaining liquid inside the styrofoam cup.

Bora laughs humorlessly. “Yeah, I guess if blood reminds you of cough syrup.”

The man goes bug-eyed. “I-is that wh-what that is?” He sputters, his tone heavily laced with fear.

There’s a pause as Bora looks from the remaining cups to the pavement covered in dried up blood, an unpleasant feeling stirs awake from inside her chest--one that’s been asleep for the last year.

“I think so.” She replies, causing the man to lightly gasp before he runs a shaky hand through his coarse black hair.

“Why would blood even be in there? Where did it even come from?” He questions her, though she hardly has any answers to give him.

She shakes her head, breathing through her nose as the man paces back and forth in place, causing her nerves to shoot up--she doesn’t have time to try and talk him down. Not when her main concern is finding out where this blood came from.

“ _The gods…._ Do you think they were going to drink it?”

She’s just a second away from yelling at her poor co worker before this sudden realization ticks away inside of her.

_What if this vampire wasn’t planning on attacking the victim? What if this is just a matter of wrong place at the wrong time? Because it’s obvious this ‘thing’ was hungry…..Where would they have gotten this blood though?_

As if on cue, Bora’s eyes land on a ripped plastic bag that’s stuck against a streetlight a foot away--the bag ruffles every time the wind brushes against it, allowing Bora to see the name of the shop once it’s blue lettering appears readable to her eyes: **_The Fatted Calf._ **

Bora’s eyes trail away from the bag unto the small building a mile down--the butcher shop.

She gets up, causing the man next to her to stop with his panic-filled ramblings. “I’ll be right back. If the commissioner asks for me, tell her I’m on the right path.” She requests with a sense of urgency, already speed-walking away from the man, who looks entirely confused, if not scared to have to be the one to talk to Bae Joohyun once again.

Bora arrives at a butcher shop, out of breath, but full of ambition that this is the starting point to untangling yet another web of mystery.

She can hear the light hum of the uv lights that are turned off, and the chilliness from inside the shop travels outside, clinging to Bora’s skin in a way that makes goosebumps rise on her arms; and before Bora has even taken that step up, leading inside the shop, she can hear this unreal airy laugh--that she most definitely has heard before, she’s just not sure where.

This strong feeling of Déjà vu overwhelms her, causing her to slightly twitch and blink in rapid sessions involuntarily.

Although Déjà vu is supposed to be a fleeting thing, the feeling doesn’t leave her right away--no, it only amplifies once her eyes meet with deep dark ones that reminds Bora of dark coffee grounds, inviting her to get lost in.

Bora’s vision instantly blurs, and she’s struck with this strong pain in her temples, threatening to have her double over as a sudden loud ringing fills her ears before a glimpse of what appears to be a vision flashes before her eyes- ****

_Airy laughter that’s so alluding it’s like a siren’s call, bewitching them both, her long fingers tap rhythmically against the glass that holds a warm shot of Japanese whiskey, causing the liquid inside to ripple--like water that’s been disturb._

_The woman in question flashes ever-so-perfect bright teeth, a smile that leaves them blinded by how divine it is--by how she is._

_Yoohyeon leans ever-so-slightly forward in her seat, captivated by the woman in front of them. “My partner and I have heard a lot about you Ms.-”_

Immediately, Bora comes to, the ringing in her ears fades out in a low whistle, but her head still dully aches.

 _What the fuck?_ She thinks, walking forward as the woman at the counter matches her stride with a plastic bag containing three cups of _something._

However, Bora doesn’t acknowledge that sign right away, for she’s too busy staring into the woman’s eyes, who challenges her right back with this hard stare that leaves Bora feeling slightly uneasy--there’s a certain look of hatred concealed behind those deep dark eyes that rise to the surface, like a great white shark wanting to eat Bora alive.

She can’t shake the feeling that she knows this woman. But it physically hurts her to think about how she knows this woman--even as they pass by one another, a certain look of trepidation masked across the woman’s marble beauty, goes not unnoticed by Bora.

But she can’t think clearly because the smell of frankincense and myrrh coming from that woman overloads her sense before the pain in Bora’s head strikes her again with a painful passion, and once more does a second glimpse of a vision flash behind her eyes, in a way that’s eerily surreal-

_A perfect smile with two inhuman large canine teeth flashes before her eyes, in a way that silently screams with glee: I’m going to have so much fun killing you!_

_Bora can’t even see her eyes, just that harrowing smile that is illuminated by the pitch black protruding veins that outline the unmark-deadly-porcelain-skin from her eyes to her cheeks._

Bora almost screams in pain by the time she’s back into the real world. She quickly looks over her shoulder just to see the shop’s door left swinging open.

She’s briefly frozen in place, allowing these overwhelming feelings to subside as she tries not to think too much about that woman, and visions from some unseen force.

Bora would accept that vampires were real, at least she has proof of that. But visions with little to no explainable meaning behind them is where she draws the line.

However, she couldn’t shake off the sheer feeling of knowing that woman.

 _Who are you?_ She questions the empty air, safely from inside her mind while looking at the vacant spot where that woman just trailed out-of--seconds later the door closes shut, and the old man behind the counter calls out to her.

“Can I help you?”

Bora turns to face him, and immediately she sees how dilated his eyes are, looking the size of a pen point.

She thinks judgingly, _Man, this guy is on some strong-ass drugs_ before setting a fake pleasant expression on her face.

She pulls out her badge, flashes it to the man, who rolls his eyes in annoyance right after. “I have some questions I’d like to ask. If that’s okay with you?”

The man walks away from her, over to a slab of meat, prompting Bora to follow him. “Fine by me. As long as I’m not the one in trouble.” He replies before picking up his meat cleaver and swiftly chopping down at the meat in front of him.

Bora doesn’t even squirm as the sound of the man chopping a strong tendon clean off the bone fills the air now taut with tension.

“I’m not going to beat around the brush here.” She starts off, causing the man to look at her--his eyes appearing normal, no more dilation to them. “I just need to know if you sell animal blood here or not?”

There’s a pause before the man chops down onto the meat once again, a mystified look overtaking his aged features. “No. Why the hell would I sell animal blood?” He questions back, clearly confused.

Bora can tell he's not deflecting, but is truthfully confused by her question. She tries not to let what little hope she has slip through her fingers as she places her hands on her hips, in a manner revealing how displeased by his answer she is.

“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re a butcher shop after all. Don’t you have any weird requests from people now and again?” She asks, sounding incredibly tired.

Something flickers behind the man’s eyes, and Bora immediately notices how his pupils shrink and grow at an alarming rate as his breathing becomes labored.

_What the hell?_

She eases forward as she analyzes how the man looks completely lost in thought--she’s almost about to ask him if he's alright, but before she can he brings his hand, that wasn’t holding the meat cleaver, up to his forehead, as if he was nursing an oncoming headache.

He shakes his head “No, I don’t.” He mutters, looking down at the meat in front of him in a far away haze.

Bora’s not so sure of his answer--not after witnessing his peculiar change in behavior.

“Are you sure that not one single person has ever come into here asking for some kind of blood?” She probes him, not even attempting to hide away the frustration rising from her throat.

The elder looks at her, a wild uncertain look in his eyes. “I-” His voice dies the minute his pupils shrink into tiny dots, causing Bora’s breath to hitch. An indescribable look of vacancy glosses over his features before he firmly says, “I’ve never sold any kind of blood to anyone here before.” 

Bora stares at him in silence, hating how whether he was lying or not--there was nothing she could do to force his tongue into telling the truth.

However, her over compelling need to get a head start on this case--to find the last remaining vampires, and put Yoohyeon’s soul to ease is all that fuels her. So she doesn’t care if she comes across as hopeless or crazed in the elder’s eyes, for when she asks, “What about the woman who just left? What did you sell to her?” She hopes that will get her somewhere, even if she’s just blindly pulling at straws at this point.

The man looks at her, more confused than ever. “What woman?”

Bora’s eyes widen as a look of pure terrified realization suddenly slaps her across her face--asking: _What was in her cups?_

She spares the man a second glance before turning on her heel, and running as fast as she can out of his shop.

She spins in circles as she frantically looks at every direction her eyes can see, in hopes of seeing that _‘woman’_ still walking down the sidewalks, which stretches out for miles before a corner to be turned was even to be had--but she’s nowhere to be seen.

Disappeared--gone faster than what any human could possibly achieve.

***

After losing control, Minji no longer allows Yoohyeon to leave their apartment, in hopes of keeping her safe.

 _“It’s what’s best for now.”_ Minji had told her, but Yoohyeon was certain this was the beginning of the end.

For she felt like a big cat flicking its tail behind steel bars, a dog kept on a tight leash--a former young woman corrupted by this red string.

She stares out of the huge window leading to the balcony, arms crossed against her chest--being threatened by that red string to even so much as think about touching the warm glass, heated by the bright sun.

It’s too bad that the vampire mythologies were wrong about the sun being able to destroy them, all it truly does is warm her cold skin, and make her feel sluggish. Only because she hasn’t fed yet today.

If the mythology were right though--Yoohyeon would have let herself combust into dust a long time ago.

She still doesn’t understand it all. Not even after Minji’s long-winded explanations, and a year’s worth of existing this way. All Yoohyeon thinks she knows is that the devil or whoever created vampires, is one sick being.

Easy to become this way, but near impossible to stop being--what a cruel joke.

For either she needed to rip herself apart, burn the pieces of herself, and somehow have her ashes be spread across the Han river, or to starve herself in order to stop existing this way.

Neither was an option for Yoohyeon.

Not when Minji had such a strong hold over her--over everything she completely is.

The reminder is always there, whether it be stored away inside Yoohyeon’s damaged heart, or a literal feeling that tells her when her lover is near-- _like now._

The tiny hairs on the back of Yoohyeon’s neck stand up as she feels Minji’s powerful presence flow throughout the house, like a verse from a song.

The woman quietly makes her way to their bedroom after putting the three pints worth of pig’s blood away in the fridge.

Yoohyeon was holding her breath the entire time.

She doesn’t even turn to greet Minji as the door, that was now fixed, opens ever-so-quietly.

Minji’s heart drops then rises at the thought of, _Thank the gods, she’s still here._ Although she’s never sure how much longer she’ll have Yoohyeon waiting for her at their home.

However, she’s determined to keep her _love_ with her as long as she can--even if it means she has to go out swinging and fighting like almost the rest of her kind did back in Busan.

She’d do anything to make Yoohyeon stay, and that’s the problem, really.

She’d do anything for Yoohyeon.

Minji would die for Yoohyeon, take away all her pain and suffering if she could.

It’s her biggest burden, knowing that she would--but Yoohyeon would care not.

Handong had told her once: “ _If you love someone, shouldn’t you set them free? If you’re better people apart, isn’t that right? All you two are doing is hurting one another by trying to force it back to what it was.”_

Minji’s not so sure that it ever was something good to begin with, for Yoohyeon had always been ripe fruit for the wicked to consume--for her to ingest, as if she’s never had anything so sweet in her entire life. 

Maybe Handong was right. 

But Minji would rather feel the unsettleable pain of having Yoohyeon here, hating her for all she’s worth--than to ever feel what’s it’s like to exist another day without her. For she’s too selfish--she loves Yoohyeon far too much, having defined death for her--breathing a new form of life into Yoohyeon.

She changed Yoohyeon, for what the girl thinks as the worst. But if only Yoohyeon knew that she too changed Minji--for the better.

The only person that could.

The only person that Minji has ever been hopelessly-utterly-entirely-in love with.

Yoohyeon holds so much power over her...though that girl never knows that.

Only because Minji is so good at keeping secrets.

Being ‘alive’ for well over three hundred years does that. But keeping these ugly secrets held within her heart are something that age never dulls the pain of.

Minji’s stomach twists in pain as she remembers the face of the only person that could take Yoohyeon away from her, and how that loud-mouth woman is only a few miles away from her-- _away from Yoohyeon._

Right under her nose, for who knows how long.

 _Have you been in Incheon this whole time, Bora?_ She almost snarls at the thought.

But she can’t be thinking about this right now, not when Yoohyeon is standing just a few feet away, looking so beautiful. The light from the sun shines down on her clear porcelain skin, while her brown eyes shine so warmly, despite what she’s feeling--her sorrow easy to spot by how the corner of her lips are dropped into a heart-breaking frown. 

Minji want to rush over, wrap her lover in her strong arms, and kiss away the pain that riddles Yoohyeon’s entire-being.

But it’s never that simple anymore, nor does Yoohyeon allow her to express her undying affection in forms of kisses and whispers of sweet-nothings.

Not after last night.

Minji’s blood boils just thinking about that man, and what he tried to do Yoohyeon. If Yoohyeon hadn’t killed him--Minji would’ve, and she would’ve made sure to make his final moments in life the most painful time he’d ever endured.

It hurts her to know that his suffering had ended far too quickly, leaving nothing for this world other than a series of tragedies--and her lover forever scarred.

Now Yoohyeon must suffer fighting against her urges for human blood, and try to conceal the blame that she pins on Minji, for if she had never turned her--Yoohyeon would not have suffered as much as she has. 

“I’m back.” Minji’s sickening honey-laced voice fills the once silent air, and racks against Yoohyeon’s body like the strongest of punches.

Yoohyeon inhales a deep breath through her mouth, tastes the frankincense and myrrh that Minji wears, on her tongue; burning her taste buds in a way that it’s intoxicating.

She wills herself to not look Minji, even as the woman passes behind her, off to rummage around in her closet. “I have to go into work for a few hours.” She informs, sounding as if she’d rather be doing anything else than to have to go back to work.

Yoohyeon hums in acknowledgment as her eyes betray her, glancing over to see Minji raise her shirt over her head revealing her fit body--one that Yoohyeon has felt pressed against her in ways that were pleasurable for them both.

She doesn’t even remember the last time they’ve shared a moment like that.

The red string is quick to make the comment: _That would be a very easy fix._ The moment that her and Minji’s eyes meet, causing Minji to arch a highly defined brow after she notices Yoohyeon’s eyes subtly taking in her form.

The thought makes Yoohyeon’s stomach churn before she quickly looks away from Minji, leaving all her burning desires on the backburner--praying that they destroy themselves there.

For Yoohyeon has always been quick to look away, fearing every time what her face might’ve said: _I’m still fighting to forget the imprint of your lips, and how your kisses were always so full of promise. But I learned you like to lie just as much as you favor breaking your promises. So, if you know, won’t you tell me?_

She’s afraid of what Minji’s face might say too. It’s looked so heavy for the past year, coded with something that Yoohyeon has never been able to solve, for Minji had always been a mystery to her.

Yoohyeon fears she’ll never have her answers. 

She looks to the city of Incheon, and sees numerous people buying bright colorful lanterns in celebration of the lotus festival tonight. One set of people that catches her eye is a mother and daughter, who walk with a stunning lotus lantern in hand, smiling at each other without a worry in the world, for they were completely unaware of the monster that watches them--with a bittersweet smile, and memories of once being just as happy and carefree as them.

A year of being this way--her death of a normal life being today, celebrated by a flower whose meaning Yoohyeon has always held close to her heart.

How tragically beautiful, to know that even in the darkest of times there is something hopeful--waiting to bloom from it.

Yoohyeon wishes that she too could bloom from a place that carries no light, but she's certain that her time has come to pass, for she has been withering away in the dark for a long time now.

All that remains are brittle leaves, and thorns that still can hurt, should anyone ever attempt to pluck her from this forbidden garden. 

Minji is finishing buttoning up her white blouse, soothing out the wrinkles as she carefully approaches Yoohyeon, who is only a few steps away--but seems miles, and miles away.

“I was hoping that after work we can spend some time together...Maybe watch a movie together or something?” She asks, her heart threatening to spill out from her mouth--only Yoohyeon could make her feel so foolish, like some little girl with an overbearing crush.

She watches with baited breath as Yoohyeon slowly catches her tired eyes, an unreadable look riddle across her face, one that Minji has never been able to understand--only because it scares her to try.

“Okay.” She simply says, causing Minji’s heart to bloom like a field full of wildflowers.

A certain childish smile reserved for Yoohyeon, and her alone--appears across Minji’s face, and Yoohyeon finds herself losing her breath over how _pure_ Minji looks, her eyes closed in happy crescent moons as she smiles so warmly at her, as if Yoohyeon had made her whole year with one simple word.

This was the Kim Minji she had fallen for, not the darken version that somehow always overpowers the good that’s left in her. 

Though, Yoohyeon is not so sure if there's any good left in her. Not when Minji has proven how she’s easily capable of working against integrity, as if her conscience had grinded to a halt throughout the long years. 

However, Yoohyeon would contradict herself if she said Minji had no redeeming factors.

Before Minji can utter how ecstatic she is, something awakens inside Yoohyeon, a question she’s waited all year to ask Minji.

The red string is already demanding her silence, a low growl of: _Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare_ , as her heart feels constricted by it’s threads. 

But this red string, Minji, and this _‘life’_ have stolen so much from her...but this--she can't let any of them have this.

“I wanted to ask you something...” She starts off, her heart pounding against her ribs. But Minji is none the wiser, still looking at her with so much adornment in her eyes.

She nods for Yoohyeon to continue, to which the girl does.

“You know that tonight is the lotus festival….” Yoohyeon alludes, hating how Minji’s expression slowly starts to sink, as if she’s listening to Yoohyeon delivering the start of some grave news. “....I was hoping that I could go.”

Minji seems to sink even further, her whole happy mood gone within a blink of an eye. Yoohyeon knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince Minji, but she had to try.

She carefully steps forward--only a small sliver remains between them, and just as careful; Yoohyeon reaches forward grabbing the tips of Minji’s fingertips, whose nails were painted a perfect shade of red, matching Yoohyeon's own shade of nail polish.

Minji glances down, sees that Yoohyeon is holding her fingertips in a childlike way before she meets her lover’s warm brown eyes that are shining with hope.

“I’ll be back before you even get done with work, I promise.” Yoohyeon reasurres quickly, meaning it with all her heart and soul.

Minji stares into her lover’s eyes, almost getting lost in the flakes of amber splashed in them. She feels Yoohyeon’s smooth thumb caress the inside of her palm, in a manner that begs: _Please, trust me._

She feels her heart go to battle, left all wounded and bloody--she’s never won in these wars.

Not when they’re over matters of thine heart.

Not when all she wants is to continue to make Yoohyeon happy.

But her resistance is strong, for she’s reminded of Yoohyeon’s best friend-- _Kim Bora._

 _“What if they run into each other?”_ She hears her heart ask - _“She’ll be gone for good then.”_ She hears something deep within her soul tell her - _“Then you’ll be all alone again.”_

Minji can’t bear to lose her.

 _No_ , she won’t allow the only good thing that’s happened to her become a fleeting thing like everything else is in this life.

She shakes her head, already quick to put a nail into this coffin--into Yoohyeon’s undying heart. “No. I’m sorry, but I can’t allow it. Not after what happened last night. I want you to stay home.”

The movement from Yoohyeon’s hand stills, threatening to break Minji’s longing heart all over again, for if only she knew how much it kills Minji to deny her of happiness--in hopes of prolonging her own, not knowing she is losing it rather than gaining it. 

This should be the moment where Yoohyeon drops the topic, normally she would have by now. But having a naive heart is never so easy.

“I know you’re worried...I understand. But this is so important to me, Minji.” She pleads without asking again, praying, hoping, wishing that Minji will allow her this _one thing_ \--the only thing that remains untouched, _untainted_ by this dark fog that hangs over Yoohyeon everyday of her existence. 

However, loving Minji-- _being hers for all eternity_ , is never so easy.

“I said no!” She snaps unintentionally, instantly regretting it after seeing Yoohyeon flinch at her level in volume.

In an attempt to somehow fix this--to have Yoohyeon not hate her anymore than she already does, she quickly utters, “I never ask you for anything. So please, do as I ask, just this once.” She pleads, and although her tone is small it still shatters Yoohyeon apart like fragile glass.

Yoohyeon felt the fall from that one.

Yoohyeon’s hand drops from Minji’s own, and in a millisecond Minji tries to catch it, but Yoohyeon steps out of her reach--a quiet desperation that Minji never wanted to know from her.

 _You never have to ask. Because I always do what you want without being told to._ Yoohyeon thinks bitterly, trying to hold back her tears that now are swelling up in her eyes.

Minji’s heart splits right in two at the sight of seeing the love of her life reduced to tears because of her--though she’d be lying if she said she didn’t know she was the reason behind all of Yoohyeon’s sorrows.

But who would ever want to acknowledge being the sole reason behind someone’s suffering; nonetheless the person who has her whole heart wrapped around her finger like a red string of thread. 

_“Yoohyeon...”_ She coos, attempting to wrap the girl in her arms, to comfort her with everything she has to offer.

But Yoohyeon steps even further away from her, recoiling in a way, as if Minji’s touch burned her.

Yoohyeon is certain she’ll never be able to understand this clash of hot and cold between them, a war that runs too deep.

Some days Minji was warm as the sun on a blazing hot day in July.

Then other times she was colder than below freezing temperatures in late December.

These burn marks forever blistered across Yoohyeon’s heart can testify to that. But she’s not so sure if it’s from the fire or the ice--thought it doesn’t matter, they hurt her all the same.

“You should go. I wouldn’t want you to be late.” Breathes Yoohyeon’s lifeless reply, though the resignation is so clearly heard.

Minji’s face is emotionless as she stares deeply into Yoohyeon’s eyes. She’s never felt this far pushed back before, not even when Yoohyeon literally pushed her back that time they fought.

This is different-- _it feels all too different._

_You're losing her._

Minji thinks that maybe she was wrong before. That if she is to go out swinging and fighting, it won’t be against the same assailants, or another bloodbath like back in Busan.

No, for not every fight begins on the outskirts of some dying city, and starts with people with hatred in their hearts. Sometimes all it takes is a quiet room, and two people who love each other enough to at least fire a warning shot before surrendering to the inevitable.

There’s a gap of longing silence that hurts Minji more than she thought was ever possible with these kinds of things.

She wonders if Yoohyeon feels a certain poignant harmony to this. Does she only feel it when it’s harming her?

She waits just a moment longer, foolishly hoping that Yoohyeon would run into her arms like she has so many times before.

But she never does.

Instead she watches as Minji leaves the room without another word. A single tear trails down from Yoohyeon’s eye before she hastily wipes it away with her palm.

It somehow has always been this way.

Minji leaving her all alone. Because there’s nothing she can say to make all of this any better for either of them. Her words feel weightless now, and her actions never meet Yoohyeon’s pleading standard that is so low--it’s almost impossible to say it’s too much to ask for.

But nevertheless Minji always persisted. 

There’s a certain type of resentfulness that overflows past the brim of Yoohyeon’s heart and seeps into the fissures of her soul.

She had always been so envious of Minji’s ability to come and go as she pleases, to be able to walk away when the going gets tough--to be able to get away _from it all_ , not forced to stay in a home that feels like anything but just that. 

She wishes she would be able to be like Minji in that aspect.

But yet, she’s left by herself in a small room, and an apartment that somehow manages to feel like the loneliest place on earth, if not more tortuous than hell itself.

She’s doomed to suffer these hardships, these feelings that don’t make any sense anymore. 

It’s all so suffocating.

Smothering her entire-being in a way that’s worse than this newfound cravings’ endless calls.

If Yoohyeon could just have one minute to breath, to have just an ounce of clarity, maybe she wouldn’t feel so completely and utterly lost.

 _You don’t love her anymore, do you?_ Yoohyeon’s heart asks from within the wretched silence, fearing her answer.

 _I don’t know._ Yoohyeon admits woefully, before sinking to the floor--crying, only when she no longer feels Minji’s presence.

*** 

Joohyun can hardly wait to get home.

After having one hell of a day she really needs to crawl into her warm bed and sleep for at least another year--until the city officials shrivel up and die at this point. 

She doesn’t really long for their death, nor does she wish for it. She just wishes that they’d know when to press hot on the iron, and when to let off.

It’s not like she could just up and inform them: _Oh, by the way vampires exist, and they’re crawling all over your precious city._ No, that would be too easy if not entirely reckless. Instead she’s forced into lying once more, holding onto this secret until it finally explodes in her face one day like a ticking time bomb.

At least she’s not alone, she has Bora to help her navigate through this turmoil that they’re both stuck in, like black tar--threatening to shallow them both.

However, she’d be lying if she said Bora’s unwavering passion didn’t worry her sometimes--though she understands that woman works from a place of everlasting grief, and fuels up on hatred for the _beings_ that took Yoohyeon away from them.

But sometimes Bora also needs to know when to press hot on the iron, and when to let off. 

Joohyun zips up her coat and grabs her bag off of her desk before kicking the lights off in her office. She shuts the door behind her before she moves through the dark corridors. Everyone has gone home for the day, opting to celebrate this year’s lotus festival as opposed to figuring out what’s just the start of the downfall to their great city.

She supposes it’s better that way. 

If Joohyun could have it her way, she’d rather live life through rose-tinted glasses also. Instead of living everyday with uncertainty that exhausted her tough exterior.

She rounds the last corner to the building before halting in her tracks after hearing some faint shuffling in the next room over.

Her bed would just have to wait.

She enters the room leading to the detectives and police officers' work spaces, she passes underneath the big carved out entrance way there before coming to a stop.

“Go home, Bora.” Joohyun demands as she sees Bora still standing at her own desk, in front of a cork bulletin board, paperwork scattered all around her as she tries to link all the evidence they had gotten today by a single red thread.

_First the body, confirmed to have no blood left remaining in it. Tie all that to the butcher shop, then--who in god’s name, was that woman?_

It’s been driving her crazy all day, sending her into the frenzy to find answers only to turn up with more questions.

Why today of all days? Why in Incheon of all places? Why does her head feel like it’s being lit on fire every time she thinks of that woman from the butcher shop?

Why is she certain that she knows her from somewhere? 

_Why? Why? Why?_

Bora’s eyes never leave the board. “I can’t.” She mutters, absent.

Joohyun sighs as she sets her bag down on one of the desks that are scattered throughout the room before flipping on the overhead light, causing Bora to hiss, her eyes temporarily stinging because of the sudden brightness in the room.

“This isn’t healthy.” She finally says something to Bora pertaining to her compulsive work ethic after letting it go nearly all day, ever since they arrived back at the station. She should’ve known it was going to be this bad when Bora didn’t even so much as discuss the case further with her, opting to let her deal with the city officials as opposed spewing her theories surrounding today.

“Neither is letting vampires overtake the city.”

Joohyun sighs once again, this time she sounds even more tired than before. “Everyone has gone home for the day...Even the wicked sleep too.”

Bora finally turns around, meeting her commissioner's gentle gaze before she finds herself uttering the words she’s been thinking about all day, “Those _fuckers_ are back. It seems like they had all the time in the world to make their presence known again. But yet, they chose today….This isn’t a coincidence, Joohyun….They planned this.” She tells her commissioner, hating how her voice had cracked under this heavy pressure--her heart just barely letting out all the steam she’s kept in there all day.

Joohyun was well aware of the unsettling circumstances that surrounds today as a whole. A year after Yoohyeon’s tragic passing, a year after that bloodbath back in Busan--and now it’s all happening again, and right in the city that holds the only two people that are aware of vampires. 

It all uncoils in a way that Joohyun wishes it didn’t--to much connecting, like some _goddamn red string of fate._

It’s enough to make her sick.

But it's way too early to start pulling out the holy water and crosses again. Not when they need more time.

“Maybe so, but standing here in front of a cork board all night isn’t going to solve anything, pertaining to this case.” She tries to reason with Bora.

Bora laughs, frustrated. Her commissioner’s words sounded like a joke to her ears--like it’s the universe’s final joke of the day.

One last: _Ha! in your face,_ before she can’t take it anymore.

All these ugly emotions are rising up to the surface that she has forced to stay submerged for the last year now.

“Can’t you see that I don’t care about solving this _GODDAMN CASE?!?"_ She roars, knocking off various things on her desk with one swift motion of her hands, causing her commissioner to flinch, left stunned.

Joohyun doesn’t say that she knows the real reason why Bora is still here, way late into the hours of the night, for the crazed look in her chief deputy’s eyes render her powerless to do so.

Instead she silently watches as Bora descends into madness right before her eyes.

“I can solve any case! But my best friend can’t, not anymore!” Bora yells, tears swelling up in her hardened eyes as she paces back and forth, “I’m so MAD. I don’t know what to do with myself.” She admits, her hands clenched into fists as she shakes, trembling from this sullen sadness that finally pours out of her heart, like burning steam from a geyser.

Joohyun feels the heat, for it flays her skin off--a painful reminder that Bora has lost so much within a year.

Most painfully notable-- _herself._

“I want to know why. I wanna know why Yoohyeon’s life is over?! I wanna know why, I WANNA KNOW WHY?!?" Bora screams, picking up the cork board with her hands before slamming it to the ground, ruining her work that she’s spent the majority of the day on.

It never was about work.

Joohyun’s throat bobs, she’s just barely holding back her own tears as Bora suppresses a sob while hot tears stream down her cheeks--like a sad picture of a rainy day in Incheon. 

_“No.”_ Bora mutters anger rising in her tone, as her face contorts into a look of rage that’s miserable for her to feel. She looks around, as if she’s looking for someone to blame before her gaze settles on the heavens.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen that way! Yoohyeon wasn’t supposed to die! I suppose to go first! I’ve always been ready to go first!” She cries desperately, her body aching with pain as her eyes finally meet with Joohyun’s own--forever engraving this image of Bora into her mind.

Joohyun hardly even recognizes the woman in front of her, for she sees a woman burdened by immeasurable grief--changed forever by the loss of her only best friend. The Kim Bora she’s come to know is no more than a facade to hide behind--so no one can see the broken woman that she undoubtedly is. 

“I don’t think I can take this, I don’t think I can take this! I want to make them all suffer like they made her suffer. I want those, fucking, _monsters_ to feel like I do!” She sobs, full of anger. 

The commissioner watches her cry, knowing that Bora’s hardly the woman who wants to hear words of comfort. But when a bright red lantern passes by out of the corner of Joohyun’s eyes--she believes she knows what Bora needs to hear.

“I understand that you want to wreak vengeance on all of these _‘things’._ I share that much with you. But there’s not much we can do right now.” She starts off, prompting Bora to give her full attention to her.

“Tonight’s the lotus festival, you should go. If I remember correctly you and Yoohyeon used to go every year, lest we not forget how you and her deliberately disobeyed my orders, and went while you two were scheduled to work that night, back in your rookie years.” She laughs at the memory, causing Bora to softly laugh as well, despite herself.

Bora barely shakes her head, a quiet sign that tells: _I don’t think I’m ready._

Going back to that place, reliving those memories of Yoohyeon, that Bora’s kept locked away in her heart….It’s so much more different than looking at old pictures that never could compare, or daydreaming up scenarios of having Yoohyeon here with her.

For their shared love of that stupid festival, and the grounds in which it stood on was so scarce to her.

Like a holy ground that she’s no longer able to walk freely around, for she felt riddle with sin.

She’s not so sure she can face that judgment--she’s not ready to experience something they both used to cherish so much, not without Yoohyeon.

It would feel wrong to go without her.

But her commissioner thinks otherwise, like she can somehow tell what Bora is thinking without it needing to be said.

Joohyun shakes her head too, her quiet reply that reassures: _Yes, you are,_ before she speaks again.

“Go honor her memory, and who knows? Maybe she’ll finally be with you in spirit.” She tells her, before turning on her heel and leaving Bora to think it all over--hoping that Bora allows herself to follow her heart for once, and not some trail that leads her nowhere.

***

Dusk has long but passed by, no longer is the sky painted in shades of deep purples and romantic reds. 

The dark of the night has come. 

The misgiving clouds hide away the light from the stars, making the sky look almost pitch black all except for the third quarter moon which shines only by a half.

Yoohyeon watches from the living room window as crowds of people move throughout the streets, lanterns filling their hands, and happiness full within their hearts.

She draws her knees back closer to her chest before wrapping her arms around them, holding on to herself in choked desolation.

Pie and Cherry lie on the love seat away from her, idly watching the t.v that is playing some movie that Yoohyeon has no interest in watching.

She can hear children’s laughter all the way up here, past the sounds coming from the t.v that sound like nothing more than just buzzing background noise to her. 

The children’s squeals of joy seep into the cracks of Yoohyeon’s heart that longs to be among them--to enjoy this night that has always made her feel _so alive_ before.

She watches on, her eye catching the sight of someone accidentally releasing their lanturn early. She sees the woman’s face shift unto a faint look of sadness, causing Yoohyeon to edge closer to the window, praying that somehow that lantern will return to her.

It’s childish and certainly wishful. But Yoohyeon used to believe in those kinds of things.

That if something is truly belonging to one, and they lose it along the way--somehow it will be returned.

Now Yoohyeon is not so sure, but she understands the pain of losing something she once had held so tightly onto.

She watches the lantern glide away through the city’s great buildings, and wonders, _Where are you, Bora?_

Busan is so far from Incheon--would she even attempt to make it to the festival tonight? Or is she out solving yet another case, forcing herself into her work to not be reminded of what today is?

_It’s been a year now after all._

Yoohyeon tries not to think about that, instead she lets her mind shift into a somewhat safer topic. She remembers that Bora would only go to this festival to indulge her--that woman never was one for symbolic meanings and, “ _why-we-should-celebrate-these-things.”_ type of gatherings.

But she’d always willingly subject herself to things she hated as long as it made Yoohyeon happy.

A wistful smile tugs at the corner of Yoohyeon’s lips at the thought of, _You always were whipped for me, Bora._ Followed by, _I miss you so much._

It’s only been a year, and Yoohyeon feels as if she’s not seen that woman for over a lifetime.

Although if she’s being honest, she would have never imagined there would be a time where she’d no longer be able to see her.

If not for Bora’s unforgettable presence, and permanently having a place engraved in Yoohyeon’s heart, she wondered if she’d ever be able to forget about her.

 _“To let go of the past.”_ As Minji so often would tell her, as if Bora was nothing more than a bad memory and not someone who made Yoohyeon’s former life one worth living.

Bora was- _no_ , is her best friend. Her salt to her pepper, her singer to her song, the missing puzzle piece that makes her whole. 

The only person that knows her better than she knows herself, for Bora could always read her mind, know exactly what she’s feeling before she even told her.

The only person she willingly died for--in fact, she had.

Yoohyeon had given her life to protect Bora, and would do it all again, despite the outcome from it all.

Even though this outcome pushes them so much further away than what some dirt and a grave would have, had Yoohyeon died the ‘proper way’.

Although she knows it’s better for them this way--to remain apart on opposites sides of the country, Yoohyeon can’t help but to wonder what would happen if she ever defiled Minji’s wishes, and ran away forever--finding Bora once again.

Would they fall right back into place as if nothing ever happened? As if she hadn’t completely changed into something that Bora hated more than anything. 

Would Bora kill her first? Or would this newfound hunger force Yoohyeon into doing the unthinkable?

She’d be lying if she said she’s never thought about that before, but it’s easier to keep these wild fantasies contained in her heart than to ever allow them to tempt her into doing something that would certainly come at a cost.

Something that Minji wouldn’t approve of at all.

 _You wouldn’t want to make her mad._ The red string warns. But Yoohyeon’s heart screams the loudest she’s ever heard it scream before, Well, _If you can’t ever see Bora again, at least go to the festival, just this once! It’ll be something to remember her goodbye._

Somewhere hidden in those words is an unsaid: _One day she’ll be gone for good, and you’ll never be able to go to the festival because your regret will be far more stronger than your gratitude._

Yoohyeon absolutely refuses to acknowledge that one.

She shakes her head, fighting internally with herself.

_I can’t._

Yoohyeon knows Minji would nearly die if she even so much as learned about her entertaining the idea, and this red string is hardly helping either--tightening around her body in a manner that it feels as if she’s being cut by it’s powerful threads.

_“I never ask you for anything. So please, do as I ask, just this once.”_

Yoohyeon thinks of Minji’s words, immediately feeling her stomach drop.

She stares back up into the night’s sky, tears swelling up in her eyes as she swallows down a gasp of air, hating how her choices felt as if they are no longer her own--this fucking sire bond--this, _goddamn, red string_ spinning her out until she’s left with nothing but a empty coil. 

Just this once she wants to make a decision on her own--to not be told/ask what to do.

But why does it always feel so hard to do? Why does she always seek Minji’s approval, even if it is not on her own accord? 

_“I think in life we have to trust in our own decisions, and not worry about pleasing others when making them. Isn’t that, like, the meaning to this stupid flower anyways?”_ She hears Bora’s words that were said to her two years ago at that same festival, as if they had been whispered into her ear--as if some higher power knew what she needed to hear--what she needed to finally be able to make her own decision.

Her heart says to her right after: _Go._

And who would she be? If not a girl that didn’t follow her own heart, but rather Minji’s wishes that would keep her moving away from her best friend forever.

Yoohyeon makes sure to feed on the pig’s blood that Minji had gotten her before waiting it out a few hours--giving enough time for the crowd to die down before she makes her appearance.

She doesn’t trust herself enough to be around so many people not after losing control like she did.

But she’s adamant in her choice to not let this day pass her by--to not let a part of her former self slip away right through her fingers forever.

Sure, she’s changed--in so many ways. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still this tiny part of her that will always be _Kim Yoohyeon_ , for she once was such a bright girl, moving to a foreign country in pursuits of a better life, as if the grass truly was greener on the other side.

Although she’s learned that most of the time the grass is never greener, and if it is, it’s only because it’s fake; she still had her good times. Even though she stumbled and fell ninety-ninety percent of the time, she always had a reason to get back up--to keep moving forward, despite the odds stacked against her. 

Bora was always someone worth defying the odds for.

It’s nearly eleven by the time Yoohyeon is ready, standing in front of the glass sliding door leading to the balcony.

She spares a quick glance over her shoulder to look at Pie and Cherry, not missing how they look at her as if they too know she shouldn’t be doing this.

“I'll be back before you guys know it.” She tells them, her tone oozing with so much love and sincerity.

Even though most of her days spent in this home was far from ideal, she’d always be grateful that those two little dogs were always there to help her get through the worst of days. 

She waves a little goodbye to them before sliding the glass door open--stepping out onto the hard title of the balcony.

The air is cold, laced with a certain crisp to it. Yoohyeon breathes it all in, relishing in this feeling that settles in her chest, a feeling that she can’t quite pinpoint, but, _god,_ does it feel reviving.

She shakes her head in disbelief while she thinks, _I’m really doing this, aren’t I?_

This magnetic pull has her inching forward ever-so-slightly until she’s at the railing--her gentle hands grip the cool bars of the railing as she looks down at the city below, adrenaline pumping through her icy veins.

 _It’s not too late to turn back,_ She hears the red string offer as she feels a sharp pain in her heart, like a knife jabbed in deep.

Yoohyeon shakes her again, but not in disbelief this time.

“I won’t let you take this away from me.” She speaks out out loud, meaning every bit of her truth--whether those words are meant for this invisible red string or Minji, it doesn’t matter.

Because this looming feeling of regret over possibly not going is so much stronger than all the fear coursing through her veins--stronger than this unseeable hold that Minji forever has on her, and will forever continue to have on her.

Consequences of whatever happens tonight be damned, and if Minji so happens to find out-- _then so be it._

Yoohyeon jumps over the railing before landing on one of the buildings, an optimistic smile curling at her lips as she sprints through the night.

She might not be able to feel it, but ever-so-slightly does the thread from the red string dwindle in strength, fraying it’s cursed cotton until it’s only hanging on by so much.

***

Yoohyeon arrives at the central park, located in the middle of Incheon, much sooner than what the majority of the people had, some leaving their homes hours beforehand to attend this event.

Just this once she’s thankful for the gift of inhuman speed.

The reminder of the crowd is much smaller than what it had been before her arrival, and the various kiosk stalls are cleaning up for the night. But Yoohyeon can still smell the various greasy fried foods, popcorn, and cotton candy linger within the air, overpowering her senses that usually are drawn to blood--as if for now the urges have subsided.

As if fate had said: _For now you may rest._

The soft glow of the streetlights surrounding the park, coat everything in this dream-like hue. 

It reminds her of the summer carnivals back in America, the ones that she and her cousins used to sneak out too, despite her good-girl nature and her parents' wishes against it.

Somehow it always comes back in full circle, these meaningful happenings in life and the negative contrasts to them.

But she won’t allow herself to think of Minji, not right now. 

Yoohyeon stands underneath a weeping willow tree. It’s long leaves conceal her from the public’s eyes, and she is grateful for it.

She watches as children run with sparklers in their hands, burning brighter than anything she’s ever seen before. She prays that their lights never fizzle out--not ever after life’s inevitable hardships.

_Don’t let these murky waters carry you away like they did me._

When she looks back to the crowd, she looks for a familiar face among them, hopes that maybe she can just catch a glimpse of Bora.

Each time her eyes meet with the dark hair of a woman in the crowd her heart skyrockets and she prays, _Please let it be you._

But every time they turn around--it's never Bora.

It kills Yoohyeon each time.

Until she feels numb after every-single-face is accounted for.

 _It's better this way_. She tells herself. But every time it sounds like a lie.

She looks among the crowd once more and notices the remaining lanterns yet to be released--she made it just in time for the last set off of the night.

The grand finale.

She listens in as the crowd starts to countdown.

Halfway through she too finds herself quietly counting along, smiling only because everyone’s joyful energy radiates off onto her.

Once the final number is called the crowds let go of the lanterns, setting them free like a box full of balloons.

Painting the sky in freckles of powerful reds.

Everyone’s booming squeals, and applause emits through the once quiet park. Before people huddled close to their loved ones, sharing this perfect moment with one another.

Prompting Yoohyeon to remember the time Bora got cotton candy stuck in her own hair, to which she laughed so hard that they both almost missed the lanterns being set off.

She remember them playing tag around the park afterwards--Well, more like her running away from Bora because she was going to murder her after Yoohyeon made sure to make fun of her the remainder of the night--though Bora never truly would hurt her.

She remembers them going to the Han river afterwards, hearts full, and the future looking bright.

Because with Bora everything seemed alright--like no matter what they'd find a way to get through the darkest of days.

As long as they had each other.

They always would too, right? 

Something festers inside Yoohyeon’s heart as warm tears trail down from her eyes, and since when did she start crying?

She palms her tears with her hands as bittersweet laughter escapes from her lips that are curled upwards into a smile.

Something inside of her soul feels restored.

*** 

Minji sits at her swiveling chair that’s turned facing the large window that takes up the entire wall behind her office desk, giving her the perfect view of the entire city. The dim lights from the room coat her in a sleepy glow, but the red hues from the lanterns filling up the whole sky, skim over her form, coloring her into a shade that’s too fitting.

For she’s been seeing red a lot recently.

She watches how each lantern floats throughout the night sky, so much beauty is there. Truly a picture worth a thousand words, but to Minji she has nothing to say on the matter.

She’s almost null to the bone had it not been for this bile fury boiling inside of her, threatening to send her into a hunting frenzy--to find out just exactly where Bora is. 

However, Handong always loved a good game of: _Can the cat catch the fleeting bird?_ If she hasn't gotten rusty in the last year she should be back any time now, making her always-grand appearance, forever sparing Minji with having to dig for information herself.

Glints of red flicker pass through Minji’s eyes as she still gazes at the sight before her, trying so hard not to think about how Bora always held the shears that could so easily sever this red string between her and Yoohyeon.

Her jaw involuntarily clenches before she has to force herself not to grind her teeth together as jealousy always rears its ugly head every time she thinks about how much Bora means to her lover.

She isn’t blinded too much by it, for she has seen that Yoohyeon doesn’t love Bora past the boundaries of what a platonic soulmate would. But she’d be lying if she said that didn’t bother just as much as it would have if Yoohyeon had loved Bora romantically, or vice versa.

There had always been an unexplainable connection between those two, one that Minji would forever find herself being envious of. 

But never would she comprehend it.

Bora seemingly had Yoohyeon’s heart without needing to ask, as if Yoohyeon had just willingly given it to her. 

Meanwhile Minji fought tooth and nail for it, and even after receiving it--it stills feels like she has to beg for it to be real.

And that’s what doesn’t make sense.

Minji had Yoohyeon in so many ways - an enemy - to - a friend - to - a lover. She has held her, kissed her, and _made love to her_ countless times. These things that are scarce and hold so much more value than what a friendship could ever obtain.

But yet Bora had something that she could only dream of having.

Yoohyeon’s unconditional love.

That fact alone is enough to make Minji want to go off the deep end.

She’s driven herself crazy before with wanting to know how it feels to have Yoohyeon’s love in the strongest form.

Does it feel like warm soft lips trembling in want as she kisses them just as wanting, if not more? Or smooth skin that feels too heavenly for someone of her dark nature to be touching? Is it like her sweet whispers brushing against the shell of her lover’s earlobe, with a declaration of love? Or is it like gentle arms she wraps around Yoohyeon, hoping they bring comfort and tell her without words: _I don’t ever want to let you go. If you’ll let me, I’ll gladly hold you until you feel how you make my heart beat so out of control, like a drummer who has bad pacing; I only play this tune for you._

She’s had all that, and somehow none of it compares to what Bora and Yoohyeon have always had. 

Minji is aware of the lengths that Yoohyeon would go to for Bora--to the moon and back if she could.

However, when it comes to Minji, she doesn’t expect Yoohyeon to go past the limits for her--she doesn’t expect her to go anywhere. All she wants is for them to get closer. But Yoohyeon had always managed to keep this distance between them that was enough to pull her in when she wanted her there, and push her out when she didn’t.

A consent game of tug and war that she’s never been able to find the fun in.

Minji’s not sure there's a category for that type of love, and if there is - she’d rather not know.

She’d rather stay in her reality where she is the one Yoohyeon needs--not Bora.

But that will never change the actuality, would it?

Minji can hear the door to her office opening, followed by airy clicks of a boot’s heel. The steps are even, and move in a way that's so precise, like a mountain lion’s graceful stride, there’s so much power behind minimum effort.

She can smell the potent perfume of Egyptian musk as the steps draw near, coming to almost a halt as she asks in a dead tone, without turning around, “How long?” her eyes are still enthralled by the red lanterns.

Minji doesn’t miss the faint cheeky laugh, full of air, that follows right after.

“Quite a while.” There’s a pause before, “Enough to already have you worried."

Minji can practically feel the presumptuous smirk on Handong’s face, causing her hands to twitch at her sides and the long vein in her neck to protrude ever-so-slightly.

She’s always hated how Handong seems to find amusement in everything, as if nothing ever truly bothers her. 

Despite the many centuries that Minji has endured with her. She can never tell what’s real for Handong, it’s almost like she never knows when the playing should stop.

“It wouldn’t kill you again to forge a sense of humor, ya know? Jokes are often designed to be laughed at.” Handong adds after noticing how taut with tension the other woman’s shoulders are. 

That’s what it really is for her, when it comes down to it.

Always something to laugh at.

Minji turns in her chair, fire already burning behind her eyes as she locks her scorching gaze onto Handong’s unbothered one.

When Handong locks eyes with her she sees the flames flickering behind Minji’s eyes, and she finds herself thinking about their _ascension night._

The night where Minji had danced with folding fans through fire at the Ketsueki shrine wearing a traditional style Hanfu. A magnificent piece of clothing that was sewn in shades of reds, whites, and golds; embroidered with stitches of dragons.

The irony doesn’t escape her.

For Minji had always been kin to fire.

Either she proved warmth and beauty or harm and ruin.

“You’re asking me to find amusement in the woman who nearly killed us back in Busan?” Minji asks condescendingly, there’s a certain murderous bite behind her tone--one that Handong fears not.

It fuels Minji’s antipathy for Handog’s brazen personality even further, for she is the only person who can look her in the face and just smile--fearing her not.

Long before Hangdong was turned, long before their damned ascension night, Handong had always played with poisonous snakes, laughed because their venom had never even so much as attempted to taint her bloodstream.

She always laughed in the face of death.

It’s always been the joke Minji’s never found funny. 

“It wasn’t even her that almost killed you.” Handong says matter-of-factly, causing Minji’s scowl to twist even further.

Handong clicks her tongue as she coolly sits down at the seat in front of Minji’s desk, her smirk still on display, despite Minji’s disapproval. “I’m just trying to lighten you up, so when I tell you she’s not alone--you won’t kill us both.”

Minji’s throat clenches as she watches Handong comb a hand through her flawless long blonde hair, looking as minted as ever.

If Minji was thinking clearly she’d note how Handong always made sure to stand out among the crowd, whether by dyed hair or a wardrobe that is more expensive than gold.

She never was one to let the finer things in life pass her by, nor someone who fitted into society's norms-- _well,_ at least South Korea’s norms.

Handong had told her once many years ago: _“This isn’t my homeland, and I rejected the folk religion and all it’s beliefs after the elders left us to die in that shrine. I no longer care what these people think of me.”_

She meant every word of it too--clearly she still does.

“Survey says,” She starts off, adding some suspense just to agitate Minji further, “that Bae Joohyun is Incheon’s new chief of police.”

Minji doesn’t break her hard stare, not even as she trembles in untouchable anger. “Of all the _goddamn places_ , they both show up here….and a year after _everything._ ” She alludes, briefly breaking her stare to close her eyes, an overwhelming mass of stress, maybe even rage, bubbles up from within her stomach.

“To think if I didn’t happen to see Bora today--how much longer would I have gone without knowing?” She asks bitterly, looking away in a far away haze--haunted by Bora’s image. 

Handong watches her closely. “Do you think she remembers you?” She asks, prompting Minji to look back her way.

By all means, Bora shouldn’t. Minji had compelled everyone involved with the bloodbath in Busan and even those that were just caught in the cross fires of it, to forget her and Handong.

No one should remember a thing--Bora shouldn’t be able to remember anything.

But with how things have been going as of lately….

“I would like to say no--but with how she’s been proving me wrong…”

Somehow Bora always did.

There’s a pause before Handong sighs, just to break the tension, then she utters, “So, the question that remains is, what now?”

“Nothing, yet. I want us to remain on the low, find out why they’re here, then go from there.” Minji informs, instantly hating how Handong gives her a certain look right after--one that’s too serious to be fitted for Handong.

“And should Yoohyeon find out?” The blonde dared to ask.

“She’s not going to.” Minji replies, steadfast. Her heart racing from within her chest at just the simple mention of her beloved’s name. 

Handong arches a single eyebrow as her lips curl upwards, “That easy, huh?” She slowly chuckles, shaking her head. She’ll never understand how Minji finds these things to be easily controllable.

When will she learn that such things never are?

“I’m obviously not going to tell her. So unless you’re planning on spilling your guts to her--she shouldn’t be able to find out.” Minji bites back, feeling somewhat threatened. 

Despite Handong swearing fealty to her, Minji has found herself worrying before about where the other woman’s loyalties lie.

Is this just another game to her? A trick to be had?

They never were exactly friends--just two young women brought together to suffer a terrible fate.

Tragedy should’ve linked their hearts, but all it did was fuse their hatred for all of mankind.

However, _The enemy of my enemy is my friend_. So it has been told. 

Handong scoffs, annoyed by how easily Minji can become tightly wound. “Why worry about me? When the news is very much a close source of information.” She rebuttals, grabbing the t.v remote off the desk to switch on the plasma t.v that hangs on the right side of Minji’s office wall.

To further prove her point, the local news station’s report of the day is clearly re-airing.

 ** _“A body was found in an alleyway near Juneto-ro street_** **_this morning. Reports say the victim was a young man in his early twenties, and that the body was severely ripped apart upon police’s discovery.”_**

Minji watches the screen blankly, for her mind shifts back to Yoohyeon, and the night she had found her on their bedroom floor lying in despair.

None of this would have happened had she not just gone out to purchase the blood herself.

Minji suppresses a snarl as video footage of Joohyun suddenly transitions on screen.

Handong simply smiles.

**_“Commissioner Bae Joohyun was present at the scene by the time of our reporters arrival. We reached out for any information we could obtain but the chief of police was unwilling to make any comment.”_ **

Minji’s blood boils the moment Joohyun’s eyes catch the cameras, for she remembers how those same hardened dark eyes had stared her down back in Busan, passing the barrel of a Smith & Wesson 500.

For she was the one who almost killed her not Bora.

 _If only I was granted with the chance to rip you apart back in Busan. I would have so gladly taken it._ Minji thinks to herself before stealing the remote back from Handong, flipping the t.v back off as she shakes in unfathomable rage.

“Your point is?” She questions Handong, fist clenching and loosening at her sides--not knowing whether to grab the blonde and ring her neck out for dishonoring her, or to let it go. Because she knows that woman only retaliates when she believes her to be acting foolishly.

Their relationship is likened to that of a wise teacher and an arrogant student.

Though Minji’s never sure whose assigned what role. 

However, in this instance it’s Handong who brings the lessons to her.

Lessons that Minji has longed to forget.

“Have you forgotten that we are forever to suffer the hands of fate?” It’s a question asked to her, but Minji feels it’s an emphatic asseveration.

Handong’s inexplicit: _Unnie, you’ve stopped wrongly invoking fate years ago. Why now must you be a fool to it?_

The moment that Minji blinks she can see the now blighted shrine that once held infinite beauty-

_A woman burdened by grief grovels before the numerous large Ancestral tablets, whose smooth ancient stones were crafted by black marble._

_The golden dish holds her offering of burning sticks of incense, and colorful wildflowers that she had handpick surrounds it._

_She prays for her ancestors to hear her prayers full of sorrow as the wind blows through the luscious green scenery surrounding her, making the Ketsueki_ _Shrine look so mystical._

_From the dirt pathway, leading to the shrine, moves a horse drawn carriage. Inside sits Minji, fuming in etiquette rage while the men inside ready themselves to deal with the woman at the shrine._

Minji’s breath hitches back in the present time before her thoughts submerge her back in the past, jumping ahead to the moment that still haunts her in her nightmares-

_“Your daughter had nearly soiled the dress, sewn with dirty hands.” Minji bites, no ounce of empathy within her._

_The mother struggles against the men's bruising holds, as hot tears stain her weathered cheeks. “You are so blinded by perfection that you cannot see how she threaded each fabric with a needle that comes from a labor of love!!! She wished to bring honor on not only her family but you also, heiress!” she screams, prompting Minji to turn around towards the carriage._

_She no longer has the time to deal with the crazed ramblings of a woman riddle by grief._

_She has tonight to get ready for._

_The men are having a hard time restraining the grieving mother as she thrashes wildly in their arms._

_“All the rice your mother fed you, wasted! For had she known her only daughter would forever glutton on greed and pride, she would have tossed you in the Han river at birth!” The woman cries as Minji walks away._

_She scoffs, nearly at the carriage by the time she turns around, against her better judgement._

_“I pray that the ancestors cursed you to suffer the hands of fate forever! That your hunger be unsustainable!” The woman screams at her as the men drag her away, almost past the ancestral tablets by the time she screams once more, “I pray that if you should ever find love within your heart, that it surrenders to you not. NO, that it leaves you ripped opened and hollow as you have made me!!!” She roars, a trail of never-ending tears falling from her eyes, seeping into the stone titles below her feet._

_Minji stares into her eyes, lifeless._

_The wooden chimes that hang among the trees chime in harmony, but this moment is far from peaceful._

_“I CURSE YOU KIM MINJI, I CURSE YOU TO FOREVER SUFFER THIS LIFE AS LONG AS YOU SHOULD LIVE!!” The mother spews out, causing the men to tighten their powerful hold around her waist, crushing her until she coughs up blood--the droplets spraying against one of the ancestral tablets._

Before Minji was turned that same night, if she had to pinpoint the exact moment why Ketsueki Shrine is forever known as: _The shrine of blood._ She’d say it started there, with the shed droplets of that mother’s coughed up blood.

When her regretful recollection is finally over, she sees Handong rising from her chair. 

“Where are you going?” She asks, tired.

Handong is seemingly passive. “Unlike you I have a life outside of running amok. I have dinner plans.” She informs, gaining a look from Minji that makes her laugh before clarifying, “ _Actual dinner plans._ ”

“I have a life outside of this.” Minji says defensively right after, watching Handong effortlessly walk away, not a care in the world.

Handong keeps quiet until she’s at the door, her hand on the doorknob as she looks to Minji with a look that knows too much. “You keep that one under close watch too though, don’t you?”

Minji’s heart sinks, powerless to defend herself.

Handong smiles far too tight-lipped at her. Minji swears there’s some pity behind it but she’s too afraid to figure out who it’s for.

“Say hi to Yoohyeon for me, won’t you?” Handong requests before waving with her fingers over her shoulder--leaving Minji alone with her own regrets, and her heart that was always doomed to suffer.

***

It’s ten minutes till midnight. 

Everyone has gone home by now--everyone except Yoohyeon who sees the Han river in the long distance.

One last thing remains.

***

Minji’s steps feel heavy as she walks down the market’s main street. Various vendors call out to her in hopes of selling her something. But she doesn’t give them the time of day.

She’s nearly home, and past the last stall--only for it’s troves to catch her eyes.

Beautiful arrangements of flowers overfill the stalls, but one in particular calls to Minji--a stunning bouquet of pink lotus flowers.

She approaches the stall, gaining the old woman’s attention who was tending to the petals of a Begonia.

The old woman smiles warmly at her, to which Minji politely smiles back.

“Halmeoni, how much for the bouquet of pink lotus?” She asks tenderly.

The old woman’s smile becomes softer as she rounds the stall to lift up the bouquet from it’s holding vase. “For you, 5,532 won”

Minji nods her head before grabbing her hand purse, in which she pulls out the sum of money. 

The old woman exchanges her thank you, and sets the flower in Minji’s hands after receiving the money.

A gentle smile creeps up at Minji’s lips as she absorbs the flowers' undeniable beauty, thinking, _I hope Yoohyeon likes these._ For she always thought of her beloved.

The old woman looks knowingly at her, “For someone special?” She asks, catching Minji off-guard for just a second.

“Yes.” She breathes after a moment, an innocent expression to her. 

“She’s very lucky.”

Minji looks at her, stunned.

How did she know?

Somehow old women always knew too much.

If only she knew how many people thought the opposite of Yoohyeon being lucky to have her.

The old woman smiles once more, it’s sad like the look on Minji’s face, before grabbing one single white calla lily.

Minji watches her with interest as the frail old woman shuffles closer to her before tucking the flower behind Minji’s ear, causing her to lose her breath.

“What’s this for?” Minji questions, uncertain.

The old woman’s eyes sparkle with something that Minji hasn’t seen in another’s eyes for a very long time-- _happiness._ “It makes you beautiful.” The old woman tells her.

Minji blinks--remembers the grieving mother, all the people she’s killed, and Yoohyeon’s eyes that were void of that same emotion the old woman's eyes before her, shined with.

She’s not so sure she can be a _thing_ to be made beautiful.

Not too long after, Minji is at their apartment door, her heart beating wickedly from within her chest.

She looks at the flowers in her hands and hopes that when Yoohyeon sees them she also sees the apology given with them. A heartbreaking: _I’m sorry that I refused to let you go, but understand this is hard for me too. I know these aren't as precious to you as the festival is...But can they please count for something?_

_Can you find it within your heart to love me once more?_

She unlocks the door with shaky hands, closes it behind her--and immediately feels it.

A sense of unexplainable dread.

It doesn’t help that the household is nearly pitch black, only the white glow from the t.v screen illuminates a part of the living room.

Pie and Cherry nowhere in sight--along with Yoohyeon.

Minji sets her keys on the rack before speed-walking to their room because that’s seemingly always the starting point to where the bad begins.

The door to their room is already cracked open, and before Minji pushes it open with her hands she prays that Yoohyeon will be on the other side.

But she isn’t--and Minji should’ve known that when she couldn’t feel her presence within the house.

Inside the room, illuminated by the light from the moon, Minji sees Pie and Cherry huddled down beside the balcony’s glass door--that is ever-so-slightly cracked open.

The bouquet of flowers falls from her hands--along with her heart that feels broken into tiny pieces onto the floor.

***

Bora knows she’s missed the main part of the festival. _Hell,_ she saw it all pass by through the rear-view mirror of her car.

Sure, she probably, most certainly, wouldn’t have missed it if she hadn’t kept turning her car around every fifteen minutes--ever since leaving the station.

But at least she saw the lanterns fill up the sky, the same view Yoohyeon loved so much.

That should’ve been enough, right? 

Well, no.

Not when one last tradition remained.

One that she’s currently heading in the opposite direction of.

She can’t do it. She’s not ready, nor does she think she’ll ever be ready.

She’d rather keep the memory of her and Yoohyeon at the Han river _together._ Than to have it be replaced with one that doesn’t involve her there.

She can’t do it, she can’t, fucking, do it.

But why is her heart telling her she needs too? Why does she keep hearing Joohyun’s words in her head?

_‘Go honor her memory, and who knows? Maybe she’ll finally be with you in spirit.’_

“FUCK!” Bora shouts before turning the steering wheel all the way over, causing the car’s wheels to let out a strained squeal; followed by numerous car horns.

Bora breathes rapidly as she swings the car back in the direction of the Han river.

For Yoohyeon she’d do anything--even if it means saying goodbye.

Bora arrives at the river ten minutes till midnight, according to her car’s clock at least.

She sits in her car for at least another solid ten minutes before she finally wills herself to step out.

The night’s cold wind chills her bones, and the sound of a street organ playing some sad sounding tune fills her ears.

 _“Fuck you.”_ She says to the universe before following the hidden trail down to the river, the one her and Yoohyeon use to stroll down every time--their little kept secret from the world.

She can hear Yoohyeon’s silly laughter in her ears, as if the girl was there with her yelling: _Hurry up, Pabo!_ To which she used to trip over her on feet on. Because she always was so clumsy--but it's one of those silly things about her that Bora had love so much.

Just another reminder that she’ll never have that again.

Never see her clumsy-stupid-wonderful-so special-best friend ever again.

She ducks underneath a lowly hanging tree branch before she reaches the spacious spot--the perfect view.

The river glistens with light shining off of Seoul’s massive buildings in the distance, and the moon’s reflection somehow takes up a majority of the body of water.

Nothing has changed here--but yet so much has. 

With heavy feet, and a heavier heart, Bora moves forward.

She can hear her feet scuff against the blades of grass, and the light flow of the still waters.

This unexplainable tug at her heart has her stumbling forward until she falls on her knees by the river’s edge.

There she’s met with her own reflection.

She hardly recognizes herself.

She looks so tired. _So, so, tired_

She stares lifeless at her own reflection and thinks, _Are you happy now? You got what you wanted. I’ve cursed you the stars and all that you’re worth, and you have gotten your just desserts out of me. -- Can I rest now, please? -- Please, can I rest now?_

The water lightly ripples below her, and she feels that the only way to find some peace-- _is to finally say goodbye._

However, she doesn’t even know where to begin, nor does she want too.

But this load -- _Oh, but this load --_ It’s much too heavy.

“I’m here.” She starts off, already feeling foolishly, but truthfully she’s holding back tears already. “Are you here?” She asks quietly, waiting for an answer from the voice she dreams about hearing every-single-night.

She’ll just have to keep waiting.

“I’m not good with this shit, Yoohyeon….” She admits, looking to the sky in hopes of drying her watery eyes. “You know that.”

The tears slip pass her eyes, and slide into her mouth, coating her tongue in this salty bitterness that’s so fitting for how she’s felt like that for the last-fucking-year.

“I’m sorry I didn’t go to the festival...I’ve always hated it anyways..But now -- I don’t know.”

The crickets chirp quietly in the background, and Bora is thankful that they fill in the gaps of silence. Because she’s sure that she doesn’t want to hear what her thoughts hold in between those pauses.

“Everyone keeps telling me it gets better….that the pain will go away. But it never does.” Bora breathes out, more tears slip down past her eyes, and she’s not sure that she’s ever cried so much in one day.

“I have felt this huge hole in my heart ever since I lost you, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to withstand countless hours, days, months, years -- until the day I die before I _might_ get the chance to see you again.”

There’s another pause--this time brought on by Bora sobbing into her hands.

The crickets behind her stop their chirping as if they know this moment demands a second of silence.

“I wasn’t ready, my heart, my soul, my whole-entire-being wasn’t ready, Yoohyeon.” She admits, _she finally admits._

“I know you’re not suffering. F _uck_ , at least that’s what Joohyun has always told me. But--but. I wish you were here because this life without you is so fucking horrible.” She sobs, her heart feeling so weak from within her chest, as if it’s only one more teardrop away from shutting down completely.

“You were the biggest, brightest thing in my life. The best thing that ever happened to me….and now that you're gone. I just don’t know what to do.”

Bora looks to the heavens, doesn’t feel that presence Joohyun had kept going on about.

Though she supposes it doesn’t matter--she doesn’t deserve it not after losing Yoohyeon at this very river.

“I’m sorry, Yoohyeon. I’m so unbelievably sorry.” She chokes out, ripping up blades of grass with her weakened hands.

Bora’s all red-faced and tired-out by the time she finally stops crying, though it’s very little.

She looks to the ground, sees the handfuls of grass she had ripped up in her desperation, her hands smeared in mud. “I just hope that after all this is said and done...I finally get to see you again.”

She looks back up, and thinks about the words Yoohyeon had told her pertaining to this festival--to the lotus flower: _“Out of the murky mud of life grows the purely beautiful lotus flower, trusting in its own unfolding.”_

Bora never did get that last part down.

But she’s starting to understand.

A glimpse of red flashes out the corner of her eye, demanding her utmost attention.

She looks to her side, and sees a single red lantern descending to the ground a few feet away-- landing into gentle hands, illuminating a face Bora’s only seen in pictures and dreams that never, ever, could compare.

Bora’s heart stops.

_It can’t be. No it can’t be._

“Yoohyeon?”

Seconds later, a round of fireworks explode into the night's sky, set off by some delinquents on the other side of the river. But Bora doesn’t even so much as flinch. Instead she pushes herself off the ground with shaky hands and stumbles forward in disbelief.

Her whole heartbreaking expression painted in such bright colors.

This can’t be happening. This isn’t real. Just another cruel joke told by the universe, it has it be.

But the second she sees that dopey smile rise across Yoohyeon’s lips she knows-

That’s her Yoohyeon.

 _“YOOHYEON!!!!!!”_ She screams, her voice loud enough to out-pitch the loud fireworks exploding in the sky.

Yoohyeon’s heart sinks to her stomach before she slowly turns her head in the direction of her best friend’s voice.

“Bora?” She asks, tears already coating the sides of her face.

Yoohyeon has so many questions, but yet she can’t bring herself to ask them as she watches Bora stumble towards her.

 _She’s here! She's here! She’s finally here!_ Yoohyeon’s heart cries, and, _god,_ she wants nothing more than to close the remaining distance between them--to scoop Bora up in her arms and twirl her around in the field that has so much meaning to it.

What has been lost--finally returns.

For they had always come here after the lotus festival, watched the river as they talked about their lives--this is the spot where Yoohyeon knows for certain that Bora had become her best friend at, something not known to either of them back then.

But now seeing Bora running her way, happy tears filling her eyes.

Yoohyeon has never been so sure. 

But this reunion was never meant to happen--doomed like star-crossed lovers.

Like all the other cruel sufferings Yoohyeon has endured, she’s forever cursed with suffering more.

The minute Bora is only a foot or two away--Yoohyeon’s stomach growls.

“DON’T!” She screams, bolting backwards, increasing the distance between them in an instant.

Bora stops dead in her tracks.

_No._

She stares at her best friend in horror.

_No._

Yoohyeon looked completely and utterly disheveled.

She held herself low to the ground, her knees tucked into her chest as her arms lock across them, her painted nails digging painfully into the flesh of her arms; her grip strong enough to bruise as her shoulders were stiff while they appeared raised-- seemingly clinched forward; the muscles in her neck were taunt as her throat retracted slightly at the strained tension set painfully at the latch of her throat.

Yoohyeon looked like a feral dog, the resemblance being way too vivid as a low growl escapes from behind the flames burning inside her throat.

"Don't come any closer!" She warns, a snarl spreads across her mouth--fangs flashing white and dangerously sharp.

This isn’t the same Yoohyeon--this isn’t her Yoohyeon.

_No. No. No._

With a hand over her mouth, and a heart that’s broken even more--Bora finally asks, “Yoohyeon...what did they do to you?” So uncertain about everything. But she knows, _oh gods,_ she knows what Yoohyeon is.

A vampire.

This can’t be fucking happening.

Yoohyeon can’t be one of those _goddamn_ things!

Bora can’t even stand to stomach the idea.

But she is forced to see the truth as Yoohyeon shakes uncontrollably before her, eyes flickering into her true ones, dark veins protruding against her porcelain skin.

She screams, sounding like a dying dog, causing Bora to take a step back.

 _What now?_ She thinks, _Am I to kill her?_

Is that what fate wanted? Is that the only reason they are brought together once again?

One last: _Finish what you started._

Yoohyeon claws at her skin as she whines in pain, looking far from human,

However, Bora sees it--that glimpse of something human.

Something so heartbreaking, aching more than a year’s long worth of grieving.

A small pout and glossy eyes appear across her friend's face. She looks exactly like a little child right before the moment where they have a hysterical breakdown. 

"I don't want to hurt you." She whimpers softly, desperately pleading not only with Bora, but with herself.

The urge was becoming stronger with each millimeter of a second. It's call sung inside of her--the hollowness within her seemingly enhanced the deadly tune. 

Louder and louder until it started to become too much for her to bear.

_Kill her~ Kill her~_

Yoohyeon shakes her head violently--she would rip herself before she’d ever allow this hunger to kill Bora.

It would be easy--the Han river is right next to her after all.

All she would need is Bora to light the match.

She probably would too, the look of revulsion on her face hadn’t gone unnoticed by Yoohyeon.

However, Bora always surprises her.

Bora’s heart sinks, and along with it so does she.

“You’re not going to hurt me.” She reassures, carefully crawling over to Yoohyeon, who retreats back ever-so-slightly. 

Somehow Yoohyeon feels this red string uncoil, and frays apart in a volatile matter, for Bora had always been the one to sever this thread--she just never knew that.

This wasn’t the reunion either of them hoped, wished, prayed for, and there’s a mix of emotions that they’re both feeling right now.

But there’s a heart-rending sentimental moment between them that feels like nothing has ever changed-

“I’m glad to see you again.” Bora breathes, laughing in a way that makes Yoohyeon’s heart squeeze.

Vampire or not.

Yoohyeon will always be her best friend.

And the universe--it’s red string of fate can go fuck themselves.

For she's rather have Yoohyeon here, even as a being of the undead--then to not have her at all.

Yoohyeon looks at her with happy eyes, tears staining her cheeks--but there's a expression hidden on her face, that has Bora holding her breath.

 _“Me too.” Yoohyeon_ whispers, and in a flash--she’s gone

Bora losing her all over again.

Another: _Here she is - to - Goodbye again._

Bora springs up before running along the shore, screaming Yoohyeon's name as loud as she can.

_Please come back to me, please come back to me._

She stumbles to the ground, crashing painfully against it as her heart feels like it too might explode like the fireworks still going off in the night's spoiled sky.

As she cries into the ground she finally believes in those fated meanings Yoohyeon had so often discussed.

She thinks she understands now.

Fate's the cruelest gift that just keeps on giving.

***

Yoohyeon had cried all the way home.

As much as she would have loved nothing more than to sink into her best friend’s warm embrace that reminds her of what a home should feel like--she couldn’t.

No, not after everything. Not when this hunger demands it’s share of her.

A slave to it, fearing it’s wills far more than that of this red string--that somehow feels less stronger than before.

She dreads opening their apartment door, knowing that Minji is home by now.

She couldn’t beat her back in time, not after unexpectedly seeing Bora at their special spot….If only she knew Bora would be there, she would have never left the apartment.

 _God_ , she should’ve known. Bora always did keep her promises.

The apartment is eerily quiet, insomuch that when Yoohyeon softly closes the door behind her the click echoes throughout the house.

She flinches at the sound--Minji had to hear that one.

The hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the heady feeling of _another_ making their way through the household overloads her senses.

Yoohyeon can already feel the spike in dreaded anticipation rise within her chest with each ear-piercing step that draws near.

_Closer, closer._

Until finally Minji is standing a few feet away, underneath the doorway to the living room.

She isn’t shocked to see Yoohyeon standing meekly at the door. If anything she looks like she has been expecting her. 

Minji’s face is stoically unmoving as her arms cross against her chest, in a manner that screams how utterly pissed off she is.

And Yoohyeon knows- _feels_ that powerful energy radiating off of her. She can’t even bear to look at her any longer, her eyes quickly shifting to the floor, resembling a child caught red-handed, unprepared for the scolding she’s about to receive.

"Where were you?" Minji questions sharply, her tone cuts through the air like a knife and slices across Yoohyeon’s skin painfully.

The brunette’s mouth feels suddenly dry, and while her thirst never craved water again she wishes she could have a drink. Perhaps it forced down the uncomfortable lump wedged in the middle of her throat.

“Out-f-for a walk…” The lie trails unevenly off her lips, which leaves her slightly wincing at how poorly she had delivered it. 

She knows Minji saw right through it without needing to look at her.

“Do you want to try that again?”

Yoohyeon is shaking now as her breathing becomes softly rapid. She feels like she can’t catch her breath. 

She can practically feel Minji’s gaze burning holes through her, making her feel hot and lightheaded as she tries to reel herself back into ease. 

Yoohyeon hates it- _hates_ that Minji has this unseeable hold on her.

The only person- _no, thing._ That’s able to render her speechless, scared, and absolutely powerless. 

This has never been her--someone who is so meek, so painfully codependent.

But she knows it’s this, fucking, sire bond, this stupid-fucking-red string linking them both together; trapping her, suffocating her while Minji breathes freely.

_Let me go, let me go, please let me go._

Maybe it’s the panic rising in her or just how entirely exhausted she feels--because when she snaps back, “Are you my keeper now?” It renders them both silent.

To be bold against Minji, was equivalent to running back into a house fire. The outcome was unknown but the danger was certain.

Maybe it’s that fear of unknowing that has her glancing up at Minji, but when she does she immediately regrets both of her choices.

Once their eyes are locked, Minji takes the opportunity to try and breach her thoughts.

Yoohyeon's hands shoot up, covering her own eyes and temples as a skull crushing pain strikes her.

She screams out, doubling over herself as pure sickening pain courses throughout her body.

Despite the mind-blowing pain she’s enduring, Yoohyeon fights back, not allowing a single thought to be read--not allowing Minji to see the images of her encounter with Bora just mere moments ago.

But with each second that passes the pain triples in strength. 

_Stop! Stop! Stop!_ Her mind begs as the pain becomes almost unbearable, insomuch she almost falls to the floor, catching her balance as hot tears stream down her face.

“Minji, p-please.” She whines, her tone so small--so broken.

Maybe Minji had taken pity on her because the release is instant, the withdrawal itself sends Yoohyeon crashing to the floor.

Her mind feels like it’s melting and the throbbing at her temples is so strong that it feels like her head has a heartbeat of its own. She can’t even begin to pull herself together as she practically drowns the household with her sobs, her hot tears contentiously falling from her eyes onto the dark hardwood floor.

Pie and Cherry watch in fear from the kitchen, hating how it’s finally come to this.

A million needles of regret stab through Minji’s heart as she stares down sorrowfully at the broken girl cradling herself on the floor.

She gently approaches before sinking down to the floor, just inches away from Yoohyeon.

 _“Baby.”_ She coos, a bitter taste fills her mouth right after, as if it was her body's way of saying: _You have no right to call her that._

_Look at what you did. Look at what you’ve done to her._

Yoohyeon’s cries subside to soft whimpers as she buries her face further into her knees, her head shielded by her hands and forearms--blocking Minji’s view of her.

Yoohyeon’s mind is still burning as she feels extremely sick to her stomach, insomuch that it feels like someone has kicked her square in the gut.

She knows that Minji is lingering over her by how close her voice sounded. She absolutely hates that she is so weak it renders her unable to move.

If Yoohyeon had just a half an ounce of strength, she’d run away without a moment's notice--snap this red string right in half.

Minji is hesitant to touch Yoohyeon, her right hand hovers above her lover’s disheveled brunette hair.

Minji is filled with so much regret, and while moments before she was filled with fiery anger towards the girl--she wanted nothing more now than to hold her in her arms.

Her fingers gently thread through the brunette’s hair, which immediately causes the girl to flinch underneath her touch.

It hurts Minji to see--to feel such a reaction, her heart constricts itself from within her chest as the corner of her eyes begin to burn. 

Her forehead falls defeatedly on top of Yoohyeon’s forearm.

She squeezes her eyes shut to try and trap the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

 _“I’m so sorry.”_ She whispers so low that for a moment Yoohyeon thought she had imagined it.

_Please don’t hate me more than you already do._

Maybe Minji is tired of the silence, tired of not seeing her lover’s face. Or perhaps it’s the sheer fact she can’t bear the lack of acceptance from Yoohyeon. So without a second thought, she scoops the broken girl off the floor and into her arms.

The action leaves Yoohyeon stunned. She feels so light in Minji’s arms, as if there was nothing to her like all skin and bones, despite never starving.

There’s a brief moment where Minji can see her beloved’s eyes--all bloodshot and dimmed of any kind of light. But the two never make eye contact, and Yoohyeon is seemingly determined to conceal her face away from her view.

Yoohyeon burrows her face deep into Minji’s shirt, only to catch a taste of Minji’s strong perfume on her tongue--frankincense and myrrh.

Minji is evading all her main senses, from the smell and taste of her perfume - to her touch which feels like it’s branding itself into Yoohyeon’s skin, and even though her eyes are screwed shut--images of Minji flashes behind her closed lids.

It’s too much and not enough at the same time.

Once again Yoohyeon is left hating everything about this cursed bond. 

She wants to pull her hair out and scream at the top of her lungs.

But then there is this part of her that is untameable and dangerously reckless--that wants to ease into Minji’s embrace.

It’s an internal war, forever doomed to be fought.

Although Yoohyeon believes her resistance is high--it all comes crashing down the minute warm lips press softly against her temple.

With a crushing weight upon her shoulders--Yoohyeon let’s her guard down.

A moth to a flame, unaware of the danger, but blissful is the pain.

She eases herself into Minji’s warm embrace, melting almost instantly as the older woman right arm rests behind her neck as her hand cradles the back of her head; meanwhile her left arm is snug around Yoohyeon’s hip, hand trailing up, and down Yoohyeon’s stomach leaving feathering touches so soft it makes her shiver.

Minji cradles her childlike. 

So cautious, so caring-

So motherly. 

It sickens Yoohyeon to think like that. 

Because mother's don't leave lingering kisses across their daughter's temple while they whisper sweet-nothings into their ears.

***

Yoohyeon is whimpering now--but for an entirely different reason.

She’s lying on her back--in _their_ bed, shirtless, only her black bra remains, clothed against her chest, but even then the straps of it have loosely fallen off her shoulders. Her legs are still clad in her tight jeans, but her boots have been disregarded somewhere on the floor. 

Her skin feels hot as a more than welcome weight shifts above her. 

It’s none other than Minji, who is in the same exact state as her--other than she’s on top, and the sole reason behind Yoohyeon’s whimpering.

Minji kisses her hard, once again receiving that sound she loves so much.

It spurs her even further, as she moans breathlessly into her lover’s mouth. She’s probably more excited then Yoohyeon is.

But such is the case, after months of pent up emotion and unresolved tension between the two. 

Minji is finally relishing the feeling of everything being released, and somewhere in the back of her hazy-lust filled-mind she thinks about how she only wants to hear that sound of whimpering emit from a state of pleasure--never again from a place of pain.

_Never again, never again._

_“Please.”_

Her beloved begs once her swollen lips are free to speak--as Minji now trails kisses down Yoohyeon’s neck, chest, and finally the sides of her belly, just above her hip bone.

A hunger grows inside the pit of Minji’s stomach as she relentlessly leaves hot open mouth kisses into Yoohyeon’s side. 

She knows what Yoohyeon wants--she can feel the way that Yoohyeon’s skin twitches under her with each kiss, each small touch.

It’s so intoxicating, it makes Minji feel lightheaded as she weakly pulls at the stems on Yoohyeon’s jeans.

It’s a short lived struggle to remove the article, but with Yoohyeon’s help by raising her hips, and Minji’s determined to make the other girl feel _so-fucking-good_ that she forgets about what had transpired in the living room an hour ago.

She tosses the jeans to the floor before running her hand through her own hair, pushing it back as her eyes unintentionally flicker into their true monstrous form before staring into her lover’s normal ones--which are filled with things she hasn’t seen in such a long time.

_Want. Need. Love?_

She feels the corner of her eyes burn once again--so she lunges forward, kissing Yoohyeon with so much emotion behind every movement of her lips--a endless: _I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry._

 _Do you really want this? Do you want me? Do you even love me anymore?_ She’s left questioning herself as her hand slides down her beloved's taunt belly.

Before her insecurities can taint her mind--Yoohyeon is calling her name in repeated sessions against her lips, leaving her reeling--as her hand dips under Yoohyeon’s lingerie, and her long fingers press against the soft warm velvet there.

 _Fuck, just tell me to stop._

She would too, C _hrist,_ she would--but when Yoohyeon’s arms that are wrapped around her neck pull her closer, Minji is filled with a sense of validation that she’s craved for so long.

She cries as she begins to make love to Yoohyeon, hoping that with each moment of her skilled fingers, Yoohyeon feels her say: _I love you so much. I love you so much that it’s killing me._

It’s still late into the hours of the night, and both women are still lying awake--tangled in between each other's bare limbs as Minji caresses Yoohyeon’s face--draws patterns that remind of her love onto her soft skin.

Yoohyeon smiles at her, a truly genuine one, causing Minji’s breath to hitch before she tucks her fingers underneath Yoohyeon’s chin, pulling her close before pressing her soft lips against Yoohyeon’s awaiting ones.

Minji's kisses feel so full of promises once more, and Yoohyeon is starting to remember what's it's like to be in love with her once again.

She swallows the whimper that trails out from Yoohyeon’s mouth into her own before sliding her tongue in--massaging Yoohyeon’s own.

Minji’s skin heats up as she settles herself on top of Yoohyeon once more, taking her time with how she kisses her, fearing that this moment might never happen again.

Yoohyeon’s lips are swollen and red by the time she finally draws back--only to leave a bushfire of kisses against Yoohyeon’s neck.

Yoohyeon’s breathing quickens before she stills--for Minji had hit a certain ticklish spot.

“Stop.” She giggles--immediately feeling Minji’s lips curl into a devilish smile against the skin there.

_Oh no._

Minji uses her hands to attack the sides of Yoohyeon’s belly, causing the girl to break out in a high-pitch giggling fit.

“Minji!” Yoohyeon squeals while trying to fight against her, eyes closed in happy crescent moons that makes Minji’s heart swoon.

Minji’s angelic laughter fills Yoohyeon’s ears as the tickling changes into soft caresses.

Yoohyeon stares deeply into her eyes, and whispers, _“I love you.”_ So much sincerity behind it--that it threatens to bring Minji to tears once more.

She leans forward, brushing their lips together once more as she says, _“I love you too.”_ Her voice trembling.

Finally their peace.

Minji pulls back, much to Yoohyeon’s dismay--her eyes catch the faint scar on Yoohyeon’s neck, and her stomach churns.

A new hunger rising in her chest, but not for blood--it’s never been about Yoohyeon’s blood.

She leans forward again, only to trail kisses down Yoohyeon’s entire body.

The younger girl parts her legs the same time as her mouth as Minji stains the inside of her thigh with a bruise the shade of romantic red.

A love mark.

Minji’s craving only gets stronger as she kisses her way higher and higher--until she’s finally dipping her tongue against the warm velvet between Yoohyeon’s legs.

She moans into it, relishing the taste. 

Yoohyeon pants above her as her mind feels blank.

All she can think of is how much she loves the feeling of Minji’s skilled tongue pressing flat against her, in a way that’s bruising but in the best way possible.

Minji kisses and touches her in a way that devouring--consuming her by each bit.

Until she’s squirming under her firm hold, begging her, _“Don’t stop, don’t stop --Minji, I'm-”_

And she doesn’t--not even after that feeling of pure white euphoria courses through Yoohyeon.

For all Minji’s ever craved is Yoohyeon.

***

The next morning Yoohyeon had contained the beautiful bouquet of pink lotus flowers, that Minji was so thoughtful enough to get her, in a vase.

She tries to think of them in a light that reminds her of her and Minji, and what their love should symbolize.

But every time she even so much as glances over the petals--she's reminded of Bora. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. What a ride, huh?
> 
> I really don't have much to say other than I'm contemplating on making this fic into a full-length one. It's funny because when I started writing this back last year I had no motivation towards it. It felt like another vampire story that's been told before. But (As super cheesy as this is going to sound.) when I wrote it in the eyes of the girls from Dreamcatcher it really started to bloom into something so much more than what I ever expected it to be. I know I'm not the best writer out there--there's so many wonderful and talented writers here. But this story makes me feels things, and it would even if it wasn't my own. Hahah CHEESY! I know!
> 
> I'd love to know your guys thoughts? Would you like a full-length fic of this? I have a outline, and I definitely don't want to rush it. So I'd use the utmost care when writing it. So I couldn't give you guys a time frame on when I'll start posting chapters or anything. (Plus highkey have another story to finish first...Opps.) Or do you think it's fitting to leave it as is? Let me know!
> 
> Last thing to end it up on here, is two things. First, thank you all once again! You guys are so amazing, more than you know!
> 
> Second, I love vampire Handong so much. X) Take care every one. Xoxo


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